
Cfess 
Book 



COPYRIGKr DEPOSIT 



THOUGHTS 



ON THE 



PROPHECIES OF DANIEL 



BEING 

F'j^Y^nr I 

OF THE 

COMBINED VOLUME "DANIEL AND THE REVELATION" 

SHOWING THE 

Response of History to the Voice 
OF Prophecy 



By URIAH SMITH 



Author of "Thoughts on the Revelation," "Here and^ereafter," 
"Looking- Unto Jesus," "The Marvel of Nations," etc. 



REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING CO. 
Battle Creek, Mich. 
Chicago - Toronto - - Atlanta 




3^' 



5^^ 



.s^ 



% 



44890 

Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1899, 
BY Uriah Smith. 



Entered at Stationers' Hall,, London. 



TW^O COPIES RECEIVED. 




SECOND COPY, 



(^^ lo O — 
..^5. V^^^^^ 




^0 

1. With Enoch, the seventh from Adam, and for three hundred and 
eight years contemporary with Adam, the voice of prophecy began to be 
heard through human lips. For so the apostle Jude declares: "And 
Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying. Behold 
the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment 
upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their 
ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard 
spet-cb?^ which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 14, 15. 
This sublime and earliest prophecy reaches to the end of time. And 
■hrough all the intervening ages, other prophecies have covered all the 
ruore important events in the great drama of history. 

2. The coming to pass of these great events has been but the response 
;' hist!;ry to what the prophecies had declared. And thus amid the 
ver-present evidences of the short-sightedness of men, and the ever- 

recurr'ng failures of human schemes, a voice has continually gone up 
Tfom earth to heaven, " The word of the Lord endureth forever." 

3. It is for the purpose of calling attention to some of these important 
prophetico-historical lessons, if we may be permitted to coin a word, that 
Lhi=; volrme is written. And the book of Daniel is chosen for this purpose, 
because in some respects its prophecies are more direct-^than are to be 
found elsewhere upon the prophetic page, an'd^tfeke fuMlments more 
striking. The object before us is threefold : (1) To g^inan understanding 
of tb' vv'onderful testimony of the book itself; (2) To acquaint ourselves 
with some of the more interesting and impoi:t'ant>ei'-ents in the historj^ of 
civilized nations, and mark how accurately the prophecies, some of them 
depending upon the developments of the then- far-distant fumre, and upon 
conditions the most minute and complicated, have been fulRled in these 
events; and (3) To draw from these things important lessons relative to 
practical Christian duties, which were not given for past ages merely, but 
are for the learning and admonition of the world to-day. 

4. The books of Daniel and the Revelation are counterparts of each 
other. They naturally stand side by side, and should be studied together. 

5. We are aware that any attempt to' explain these books and make 
an application of their prophecies, is generally looked upon as a futile and 
fanatical task, and is sometimes met with even open hostility. It is much 
to be regretted that any portions of that volume which all Christi i 

[5] 



6 PREFACE. 

believe to be the book wherein God has undertaken to rcvwl his will to 
mankind, should come to be regarded in such a light. But a great fact to 
which the reader's attention is called in the following paragraph, is be- 
lieved to contain for this state of things both an explanation and an 
antidote. 

6. There are two general systems of interpretation adopted by differ- 
ent expositors in their efforts to explain the sacred Scriptures. The first 
is the mystical or the spiritualizing system invented by Origen, to the 
shame of sound criticism and the curse of Christendom ; the second is the 
system of literal interpretation, used by such men as Tyndale, Luther, 
and all the Reformers, and furnishing the basis for every advance step 
which has thus far been made, in the reformation from error to truth as 
taught in the Scriptures. According to the first system, every declaration 
is supposed to have a mystical or hidden sense, which it is the province 
of the interpreter to bring forth ; by the second, every declaration is to be 
taken in its most obvious and literal sense, except where the context and 
the well-known laws of language show that the terms are figurative, and 
not literal ; and whatever is figurative must be explained by other portions 
of the Bible which are literal. 

7. By the mystical method of Origen, it is vain to hope for any uni- 
form understanding of either Daniel or the Revelation, or of any other book 
of the Bible ; for that system ( if it can be called a system ) knows no law 
but the uncurbed imagination of its adherents ; hence there are on its 
side as many different interpretations of Scripture as there are different 
fancies of different writers. By the literal method, everything is subject 
to well-established and clearly defined law ; and, viewed from this stand- 
point, the reader will be surprised to see how simple, easy, and clear many 
portions of the Scriptures at once become, which, according to any other 
system, are dark and unsolvable. It is admitted that many figures are 
used in the Bible, but it is also claimed that the Scriptures introduce no 
figure which they do not somewhere furnish literal language to explain. 
This volume is offered as a consistent exposition of the book of Daniel 
according to the literal system. 

8. The study of prophecy should by no means be neglected ; for it is 
the prophetic portions of the word of God which especially constitute it a 
lamp to oui4pet and a light to our path. So both David and Peter une- 
quivocally testify. Ps. 119 ; 105 ; 2 Peter 1 : 19. 

9. No sublimer study can occupy the mind than the study of books 
in which He who sees the end from the beginning, looking forward 
through all the ages, gives, through his inspired prophets, a description 
of coming events for the benefit of those whose lot it would be to meet 
them. 

10. An increase of knowledge respecting the prophetic portions of the 
word of God was to be one of the characteristics of the last days. Said 
the angel to Daniel, " But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the 
book, even to the time of the end : many shall run to and fro, and knowl 



PREFACE. 7 

edge shall be increased;' or, as Michaelis's translation reads: "When 
many shall give their sedulous attention to the understanding of these things, 
and knowledge shall be increased." It is our lot to live this side the 
time to which the angel told Daniel to thus shut up the words and seal 
the book. That restriction has now expired by limitation. In the lan- 
guage of the figure, the seal has been removed, and many are running to 
and fro, and knowledge has marvelously increased in every department 
of science ; yet it is evident that this prophecy specially contemplates an 
increase of knowledge concerning those prophecies that are designed to 
give us light in reference to the age in which we live, the close of this 
dispensation, and the soon-coming transfer of all earthly governments to 
the great King of Righteousness, who shall destroy his enemies, and crown 
with an infinite reward every one of his friends. The fulfilment of the 
prophecy in the increase of this knowledge, is one of the pleasing signs of 
the present time. For more than half a century, light upon the prophetic 
word has been increasing, and shining with ever-growing luster to our 
own day. 

11. There seems to be no prophecy which a person can have so little 
excuse for misunderstanding as the prophecy of Daniel, especially as re- 
lates to its main features. Dealing but sparingly in language that is 
highly figurative, explaining all the symbols it introduces, locating its 
events within the rigid confines of prophetic periods, it points out the 
first advent of the Messiah in so clear and unmistakable a manner as to 
call forth the execration of the Jews upon any attempt to explain it, and 
gives so accurately, and so many ages in advance, the outlines of the great 
events of our world's history, that infidelity stands confounded and dumb 
before its inspired record. 

12. With thrilling interest we behold to-day the nations marshaling 
their forces, and pressing forward in the very movements described 
by the royal seer in the court of Babylon twenty-five hundred years ago. 
and these movements — hear it, ye children of men — are the last political 
revolutions to be accomplished before this earth plunges into her final 
time of trouble, and Michael, the great Prince, stands up, and his people, 
all who are found written in the book, . are crowned with full and final 
deliverance. Dan. 12 : 1, 2. 

13. Are these things so ? "Seek," says our Saviour, "and ye shall 
find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." God has not so concealed 
his truth that it will elude the search of the humble seeker. 

With a prayer that the same Spirit by which those portions of Scrip- 
ture which form the basis of this volume were at first inspired, and whose 
aid the writer has sought in his expository efforts, may rest abundantly upon 
the reader in his investigations, according to the promise of the Saviour 
in John 16 : 7, 13, 15, this work is commended to the candid and careful 
attention of all who are interested in prophetic themes. U. S. 

Battle Creek, MrcH., 
January, 1697. 




:^^^: 




MTEMT 



r/i\ 



^be BooH ^^ D^"^®^' 



CHAPTER I. 



Daniel in Captivity 



PAGE 

24 



Characteristics of the Sacred Writings — Five Historical Facts — 
Prophecy of Jerusalem's Captivity — The Holy City Three Times 
Overthrown — God's Testimony against Sin — Condition and 
Treatment of Daniel and his Companions — Character of King 
Nebuchadnezzar — Signification of Pagan Names — Daniel's In- 
tegrity — The Result of his Experiment — Daniel Lives till the 
Time of Cyrus. 

CHAPTER II. 



The GrREAT Image 

A Difficulty Explained — Daniel Enters upon his Work — Who 
were the Magicians — Trouble between the King and the Wise Men 
— The Ingenuity of the Magicians — The King's Sentence against 
Them — Remarkable Providence of God — The Help Sought by 
Daniel — A Good Example — Daniel's Magnanimity — A Natural 
Character — The Magicians Exposed — What the World Owes to 
the People of God — Appropriateness of the Symbol — A Sublime 
Chapter of Human History — Beginning of the Babylonian King- 
dom — What is Meant by a Universal Kingdom — Description of 
Babylon — The Heavenly City — Babylon's Fall — Stratagem of 
Cyrus — Belshazzar's Impious Feast — Prophecy Fulfilled — Baby- 
lon Reduced to Heaps — The Second Kingdom, Medo-Persia — ■ 
Persian Kings, and Time of their Reign — Persia's Last King — 
Alexander the Great — His Contemptible Character — The Fourth 
Kingdom — The Testimony of Gibbon — Influences which Under- 
mined Rome — A False Theory Examined — What the Toes Sig- 
nify — • Rome Divided — Names of the Ten Divisions — Subsequent 
History — God's Kingdom Still Future — Its Nature, Location, 
and Extent. 



32 



8 COATED" TS. 

CHAPTER III. 

The Fiery Ordeal ........ 78 

Nebuchadnezzar's Image rs. God's — Devotion of Idolaters — The 
Jews Accused — The King's Forbearance — The Fiery Furnace — 
Its Effect on the Chaldeans — The Course of the Three Wor- 
thies—The Wonderful Deliverance — Its Effect on the King's 
Mind — Integrity Honored. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Nebuchadnezzar's Decree ...... 85 

The Oldest Decree on Record — Humiliation Confessed — A Good 
Example — Nebuchadnezzar's Condition — God's Dealing with 
the King — The Magicians Humbled — A Remarkable Illustra- 
tion — Mercy in Judgment — An Important Key to Prophetic In- 
terpretation — Angels Interested in Human Affairs — The King's 
Acknowledgment — Daniel's Hesitation — His Delicate Answer 
to the King — Judgments Conditional — The Lesson Unheeded — 
The Blow Falls — The King's Restoration — The End Gained — 
Nebuchadnezzar's Death — Summary of his Experience. 

CHAPTER V. 

Belshazzar's Feast ........ 94 

Closing Scene of Babylon's History — Celebration of tlio Conquest 
of Judea — The Sacred Vessels Desecrated — God Interferes with 
the Revelry — The Phantom Hand — Change of Scene — Daniel 
Called — The Lesson to the King — The Writing Interpreted — 
The Fulfilment Follows — Edwin Arnold's Prize Poem. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Daniel in the Lions' Den . . . . . lOG 

Date of the Persian Kingdom — Cyrus Sole Ruler — Paul's Ri'fer- 
ence to Daniel's Experience — Extent of the Persian Kingdom — 
A Fiendish Plot — Righteousness Daniel's only Fault — False Wit- 
ness of the Conspirators — Daniel Undisturbed — The Decree Se- 
cured — The Victim Ensnared — The King's Dilemma — Daniel 
Cast into the Lions' Den — His Wonderful Preservation — Fate of 
Daniel's Accusers — Daniel Doubly Vindicated — The King's 
Decree. 



CONTENTS. 9 

CHAPTER YII. 

The Four Beasts . . . . . . . .118 

Chronological Connection — Rule of Scripture Interpretation — ■ 
Signification of the Symbols — The Kingdoms Identical witlj 
those of Daniel 2 — Why the Vision is Repeated — Change in 
Babylonish History — Deterioration of Earthly Governments — 
The Symbol of the Bear Explained — Grecia the Third Kingdom — 
Rapidity of its Conquests — Testimony of Rollin — Signification 
of the Four Heads of the Leojjard Beast — The Nondescript — 
Signification of the Ten Horns — A Little Horn among the Ten — 
The Judgment Scene — A Temporal Millennium Impossible — 
Character of the Little Horn — Gradual Development of the Ro- 
mish Church — Opposition of the Arians — The Three Horns 
Plucked Up — Millions of Martyrs — A Feeble Defense — Pagan- 
ism Outdone — Meaning of Time, Times, and a Half — Date of 
Papal Supremacy — Date of Papal Overthrow — Rome a Repub- 
lic — The Power of the Papacy Waning in Its Stronghold — A 
Later Judgment — The Ecumenical Council — Victor Emmanuel's 
United Italy — End of the Pope's Temporal Power — Its Coming 
Destruction. 



CHAPTER YIll. 

The Ram, He-Goat, and Little Horn . . . .145 

Change from Chaldaic to Hebrew — Date of Belshazzar's Reign — 
Date of this Vision — Where was Shushan ? — A Prophecy of 
Isaiah Fulfilled — The Angel Explains the Symbols — How the 
Goat Represents the Grecians — Alexander the Great — Battle at 
.the River Granicus — Battle at the Passes of Issus — The Great 
Battle of Arbela — Subversion of the Persian Kingdom, b. c. 331 — 
Alexander's Famous Reply to Darius — The World Will not Per- 
mit Two Suns nor Two Sovereigns — Increase of Power — Alexan- 
der's Disgraceful Death — Division of the Kingdom — The Roman 
Horn — How it Came out of One of the Horns of the Goat — Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes not this Horn — Rome the Power Symbolized 
by the Little Horn — What is the " Daily" — Two Desolating Powers 
Brought to View — When Oppression of the Saints Will End — 
The 2300 Days not here Explained — The Sanctuary Explained — 
What the Cleansing of the Sanctuar^^ Is— The King of Fierce 
Countenance — By What Means the Romans Prospered — The 
Explanation not Finished — The Reason Why. 



10 CONI^ENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 
The Seventy Weeks . 183 

The Short Time between the Visions — Daniel's Understanding 
of Jeremiah's Prophecy — Daniel's Wonderful Prayer — Gabriel 
again Appears — Vision of Chapter 8 Explained — Connection 
between Chapters Eight and Nine Established — The Time Ex- 
plained — The Seventy Weeks — The Meaning of ' ' Cut Off " — Tes- 
timony of Dr. Hales — Date of the Seventy Weeks — The Decree 
of Cyrus — The Decree of Darius — The Decree of Artaxerxes — 
The Year 457 before Christ — Date of Christ's Baptism — Date of 
Christ's Crucifixion — Invention of the Christian Era — Interme- 
diate Dates — Harmony Established — The Genuine Reading — 
Ptolemy's Canon — The End of the 2300 Days. 

CHAPTER X. 

Daniel's Last Vision 213 

Time of Daniel's Various Visions — How Cj-^rus Became Sole Mon- 
arch — Daniel's Purpose in Seeking God — Scriptural Fasting — 
Another Appearance of the Angel Gabriel — The Effect upon 
Daniel — Daniel's Age at this Time — The Answer to Prayer 
Sometimes not Immediately Apparent — Who Michael Is — 
Daniel's Solicitude for his People — The Relation of Christ and 
Gabriel to the King of Persia and the Prophet Daniel. 

CHAPTER XL 

A Literal Prophecy 222 

Succession of Kings in Persia — The Rich King — The Largest 
Army ever Assembled in the World — Meaning of the Phrase 
♦'Stand Up " — Alexander in Eclipse — His Kingdom Divided 
among his Four Leading Generals — Location of the King of the 
North and the King of the South — Macedon and Thrace Annexed 
to Syria — The Syrian Kingdom Stronger than the Kingdom of 
Egypt — Divorce and Marriage of Antiochus Theos — Laodice's 
Revenge — Berenice and her Attendants Murdered — Ptolemj' 
Euergetes Avenges the Death of his Sister — Syria Plundered — 
2500 Idols Carried to Egypt — Antiochus Magnus Avenges the 
Cause of his Father — Defeated by the Egyptians — Ptolemy 
Overcome by his Vices — Another Syrian Campaign against 
Egypt — New Complications — Rome Introduced — Syria and 
Macedonia Forced to Retire — Rome Assumes the Guardianship 
of the Egyptian King — The Egyptians Defeated — Antiochus 
Falls before the Romans — Syria Made a Roman Province — Ju- 



CONTENTS. 11 

dea Conquered by Pompey — Caesar in Egypt — Exciting Scenes — 
Cleopatra's Stratagem — Ceesar Triumphant— Veni, Vidi, Vici — 
Caesar's Deatli — Augustus Csesar— Tlie Triumvirate — The Au- 
gustan Ag3 of Rome — Tlie Birth of our Lord — Tiberius, the Vile 

— Date of Christ's Baptism — Rome's League with the Jews — 
C^sar and Antony — The Battle of Actium — Final Overthrow of 
Jerusalem — What is Meant by Chittim — The Vandal War — 
The "Daily" Taken Away — Justinian's Famous Decree — The 
Goths Driven from Rome — Long Triumph of the Papacy — The 
Atheistical King — The French Revolution of 1793 — The Bishop 
of Paris Declares himself an Atheist — France as a Nation Rebels 
against the Author of the Universe — The Marriage Covenant 
Annulled — God Declared a Phantom, Christ an Impostor — Blas- 
phemy of a Priest of Illuminism — A Dissolute Female the God- 
dess of Reason — Titles of the Nobility Abolished — Their Estates 
Confiscated — The Land Divided for Gain — Termination of the 
Reign of Terror — Time of the End, 1798 — Triple War between 
Egpyt, France, and Turkey — Napoleon's Dream of Eastern Glory 

— He Diverts the War from England to Egypt — His Ambition 
Embraces all Historical Lands of the East — Downfall of the Pa- 
pacy — Embarkation from Toulon — Alexandria Taken — Battle 
of the Pyramids — The Combat Deepens — Turkey, the King of 
the North, Declares War against France — Napoleon's Campaign 
in the Holy Land — Beaten at Acre — • Retires to Egypt — Called 
back to France — Egypt in the Power of Turkey — Tidings out of 
the East and North — The Crimean War of 1853— Predicted by 
Dr. Clarke from this Prophecy in 1825 — The Sick Man of the East 

— The Eastern Question ; What is It ? — Russia's Long-Cherished 
Dream — The Last Will and Testament of Peter the Great ■ — 
Startling Facts in Russian History — The Prophecy of Napoleon 
Bonaparte — Kossuth's Prediction — Russia's Defiant Attitude in 
1870 — TheRusso-Turkish War of 1877 — The Berlin Congress — 
Turkey Bankrupt — The Whole Empire Mortgaged to the Czar — 
Wonderful Shrinkage of Turkish Territory — The Wonder of 
Statesmen — The Eastern Question in the Future, 

CHAPTER XII. 

Closing Scenes . . . 293 

The Reign bi Christ — The Grand Signal of its Approach — What 
Events are Next in Order — The Time of Trouble — The Resur- 
rection — The Key to the Future — Some to Life, Some to Shame 

— Promised Rewards of the Coming Day — The Sealed Book 
Opened — Knowledge Wonderfully Increased — The Progress of a 
Thousand Years Made in Fifty — ^ The Wise Understand — Daniel 
Stands in his Lot- 




The Great World-Kingdom Image, Dan. 2 : 34, 88 
Map of The Four Kingdoms .... 
The Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace . 
Daniel in the Lions' Den .... 

The Lion — Symbol op Babylon . . . . 
The Bear — Symbol of Medo-Persia 
The Leopard — Sy^mbol of Grecia 
The Fourth Beast — Symbol of Rome 
The Little Horn — Symbol ok the Papacy 
The Ram — Symbol of Medo-Persia . 
The He-Goat — Symbol, of Grecia 
The Little Horn of Daniel VIII 
Diagram of the 70 Weeks and 2300 Days 
Map Illustrating the Eastern Qukstion 
Increase of Knowledge, Plate 1 . . . 

Increase of Knowledge, Plate II . 



Page 
41 

65 

81 

109 

114 

. 115 

IIG 
. 117 

118 
. 146 

148 
. 151 

191 
. 289 

306 
. 307 



[14] 




(®|^^HAT the book of Daniel was written by the person whose 
^Wf" name it bears, there is no reason to doubt. Ezekiel, who 
i was contemporary with Daniel, bears testimony, through 
the spirit of prophecy, to his piety and uprightness, ranking 
him in this respect with Noah and Job : " Or if I send a pesti- 
lence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to 
cut off from it man and beast; though Noah, Daniel, and Job 
were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver 
neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls 
by their righteousness." Eze. 14 : 19, 20. His wisdom also, 
even at that early day, had become proverbial, as appears from 
the same writer. To the prince of Tyrus he was directed of 
the Lord to say, "Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel ; there is 
no secret that they can hide from thee." Eze. 28:3. But 
above all, our Lord recognized him as a prophet of God, and 
bade his disciples understand the predictions given through 
him for the benefit of his church: "When ye therefore shall 
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the 
prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him under- 
stand), then let them which be in Judea flee into the moun- 
tains." . Matt. 24 : 15, 16. 

Though we have a more minute account of his early life 
than is recorded of that of any other prophet, yet his birth and 
lineage are left in complete obscurity, except that he was of the 

[21] 



22 INTRODUCTION. 

royal line, probably of the house of David, which had at this 
time become very numerous. He first appears as one of the 
noble captives of Judah, in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, 
king of Babylon, at the commencement of the seventy years' 
captivity, b. c. 606. Jeremiah and Habakkuk were yet utter- 
ing their prophecies. Ezekiel commenced soon after, and a 
little later, Obadiah; but both these finished their work years 
before the close of the long and brilliant career of Daniel. 
Three prophets only succeeded him, Haggai and Zechariah, who 
exercised the prophetic office for a brief period contemporane- 
ously, B. c. 520-518, and Malachi, the last of the Old-Testa- 
ment prophets, who flourished a little season about b. c. 397. 

During the seventy years' captivity of the Jews, b. c. 606- 
536, predicted by Jeremiah (Jer. 25 : 11), Daniel resided at 
the court of Babylon, most of the time prime minister of that 
brilliant monarchy. His life affords a most impressive lesson 
of the importance and advantage of maintaining from earliest 
youth strict integrity toward God, and furnishes a notable in- 
stance of a man's maintaining eminent piety, and faithfully dis- 
charging all the duties that pertain to the service of God, while 
at the same time engaging in the most stirring activities, and 
bearing the weightiest cares and responsibilities that can de- 
volve upon men in this earthly life. 

What a rebuke is his course to many at the present day, 
who, having not a hundredth part of the cares to absorb their 
time and engross their attention that he had, yet plead as an 
excuse for their almost utter neglect of Christian duties, that 
they have no time for them. What will the God of Daniel say 
to such, when he comes to reward his servants impartially, ac- 
cording to their improvement or neglect of the opportunities 
offered them ? 

But it is not alone nor chiefly his connection with the Chal- 
dean monarchy, the glory of kingdoms, that perpetuates the 
memory of Daniel, and covers his name with honor. From 
the hight of its glory he saw that kingdom decline, and pass 
into other hands. Its period of greatest prosperity was em- 
braced within the limits of the lifetune of one man. So brief 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

was its supremacy, so transient its glory. But Daniel was in- 
trusted with more enduring honors. While beloved and hon- 
ored by the princes and potentates of Babylon, he enjoyed an 
infinitely higher exaltation, in being beloved and honored by 
God and his holy angels, and admitted to a knowledge of the 
counsels of the Most High. 

His prophecy is, in many respects, the most remarkable of 
any in the sacred record. It is the most comprehensive. It 
was the first prophecy giving a consecutive history of the world 
from that time to the end. It located the most of its predictions 
within well-defined prophetic periods, though reaching many 
centuries into the future. It gave the first definite chronolog- 
ical prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. It marked the time 
of this event so definitely that the Jews forbid any attempt to 
interpret its numbers, since that prophecy shows them to be 
without excuse in rejecting Christ; and so accurately had its 
minute and literal predictions been fulfilled down to the time 
of Porphyry, a. d. 250, that he declared (the only loophole he 
could devise for his hard-pressed skepticism) that the predic- 
tions were not written in the age of Babylon, but after the 
events themselves had transpired. This shift, however, is not 
now available; for every succeeding century has borne addi- 
tional evidence to the truthfulness of the prophecy, and we are 
just now, in our own day, approaching the climax of its fulfil- 
ment. 

The personal history of Daniel reaches to a date a few 
years subsequent to the subversion of the Babylonian kingdom 
by the Medes and Persians. He is supposed to have died at 
Shushan, or Susa, in Persia, about the year b. c. 530, aged 
nearly ninety-four years; his age being the probable reason 
why he returned not to Judea with other Hebrew captives, 
under the proclamation of Cyrus (Ezra 1 : 1), b. c. 536, which 
marked the close of the seventy years' captivity, 
b 



H^^mF^i. 



tmms^^Bi 



^ ry^ 



^ 




-^f^wmtsz 



Verse 1. In the third .year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah 
came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon Unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 
2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part 
of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of 
Shinar to the house of his god ; and he brought the vessels into the 
treasure-house of his god. 

Qiyrg^ITH a directness characteristic of the sacred writers, 
'^KilW^ Daniel enters at once upon his subject. He com- 
^S^^^ mences in the simple, historical style, his book, with 
the exception of a portion of chapter 2, being of a historical 
nature, till we reach the seventh chapter, when the prophetical 
portion, more properly so called, commences. Like one con- 
scious of uttering only well-known truth, he proceeds at once 
to state a variety of particulars by which his accuracy could at 
once be tested. Thus, in the two verses quoted, he states five 
particulars purporting to be historical facts, such as no writer 
would be likely to introduce into a fictitious narrative : (1) That 
Jehoiakim was king of Judah; (2) That Nebuchadnezzar was 
king of Babylon; (3) That the latter came against the former; 

(4) That this was in the third year of Jehoiakim' s reign; and 

(5) That Jehoiakim was given into the hand of Kebuchadnez- 
zar, who took a portion of the sacred vessels of the house of 
God, and carrying them to the land of Shinar, the country 
of Babyh:)n (Gen. 10 : 10), phiced them in the treasure-house 
of his heathen divinity. Subsequent portions of the narrative 
abound as fully in historical facts of a like nature. 

[2n 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 1, 2. 25 

This overthrow of Jerusalem was predicted by Jeremiah, 
and immediately accomplished, b. c. 606. Jer. 25 : 8-11. 
Jeremiah places this captivity in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, 
Daniel in the third. This seeming discrepancy is explained by 
the fact that JSTebuchadnezzar set out on his expedition near 
the close of the third year of Jehoiakim, from which point 
Daniel reckons. But he did not accomplish the subjugation of 
Jerusalem till about the ninth month of the year following; 
and from this year Jeremiah reckons. (Frideaux, Yol. I, pp. 
99, 100.) Jehoiakim, though bound for the purpose of being 
taken to Babylon, having humbled himself, was permitted to 
remain as ruler in Jerusalem, tributary to the king of Babylon. 

This was the first time Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchad- 
nezzar. Twice subsequently, the city, having revolted, was 
captured by the same king, being more severely dealt with each 
succeeding time. Of these subsequent overthrows, the first was 
under Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, b. c. 599, when all the 
sacred vessels were either taken or destroyed, and the best of 
the inhabitants, with the king, were led into captivity. The 
second was under Zedekiah, when the city endured the most 
formidable siege it ever sustained, except that by Titus, in a. d. 
70. During the two years' continuance of this siege, the 
inhabitants of the city suffered all the horrors of extreme 
famine. At length, the garrison and king, attempting to 
escape from the city, were captured by the Chaldeans. The 
sons of the king were slain before his face. His eyes were put 
out, and he was taken to Babylon; and thus was fulfilled the 
prediction of Ezekiel, who declared that he should be carried 
to Babylon, and die there, but yet should not see the place. 
Eze. 12 : 13. The city and temple were at this time utterly 
destroyed, and the entire population of the city and country, 
with the exception of a few husbandmen, were carried captive 
to Babylon, b. c. 588. 

Such was God's passing testimony against sin. JSTot that 
the Chaldeans were the favorites of Heaven, but God made 
use of them to punish the iniquities of his people. Had the 
Israelites been faithful to God, and kept his Sabbath, Jerusalem 



26 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

would have stood forever. Jer. 17 : 24-27. But they departed 
from him, and he abandoned them. They first profaned the 
sacred vessels by sin, in introducing heathen idols among them; 
and he then profaned them by judgments, in letting them go 
as trophies into heathen temples abroad. 

During these days of trouble and distress upon Jerusalem, 
Daniel and his companions were nourished and instructed in 
the palace of the king of Babylon; and, though captives in a 
strange land, they were doubtless in some respects much more 
favorably situated than they could have been in then* native 
country. 

Verse 3. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his 
eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the 
king's seed, and of the princes ; 4. Children in whom was no blemish, 
but well-favored, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, 
and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in 
the king's palace, and whom thej' might teach the learning and the 
tongue of the Chaldeans. 5. And the king appointed them a dail}' provi- 
sion of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank ; so nourishing 
them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before 
the king. 

We have in these verses the record of the probable fulfil- 
ment of the announcement of coming judgments made to King 
Hezekiah by the prophet Isaiah, more than a hundred years 
before. When this king had vaingloriously shown to the 
messengers of the king of Babylon all the treasures and holy 
things of his palace and kingdom, he was told that all these 
good things should be carried as trophies to the city of Babylon, 
and nothing should be left ; and that even his own children, his 
descendants, should be taken away, and be eunuchs in the 
palace of the king there. 2 Kings 20 : 14-18. It is probable 
that Daniel and his companions were treated as indicated in 
the prophecy ; at least we hear nothing of their posterity, which 
can be more easily accounted for on this hypothesis than on any 
other; though some think that the term eunuch had come to 
signify office rather than condition. 

The word child/ren, as applied to these captives, is not to be 
confined to the sense to which it is limited at the present time. 



CHAPTER I, VERSES 8-5. 2? 

It included youth also. And we learn from the record that 
these children were already skilful in all wisdom, cunning in 
knowledge, and understanding science, and had ability in them 
to stand in the king's palace. In other words, they had already 
acquired a good degree of education, and their physical and 
mental powers were so far developed that a skilful reader of 
human nature could form quite an accurate estimate of their 
capabilities. They are supposed to have been about eighteen 
or twenty years of age. 

In the treatment which these Hebrew captives received, we 
see an instance of the wise policy and the liberality of the ris- 
ing king, Nebuchadnezzar. 

1. Instead of choosing, like too many kings of later times, 
means for the gratification of low and base desires, he chose 
young men who should be educated in all matters pertaining to 
the kingdom, that he might have efficient help in administering 
its affairs. 

2. He appointed them daily provision of his own meat and 
wine. Instead of the coarse fare which some would have 
thought good enough for captives, he offered them his own royal 
viands. 

For the space of three years, they had all the advantages 
the kingdom afforded. Though captives, they were royal chil- 
dren, and they were treated as such by the humane king of the 
Chaldeans. 

The question may be raised, why these persons were selected 
after suitable preparation, to take part in the affairs of the 
kingdom. Were there not enough native Babylonians to fill 
these positions of trust and honor ? It could have been for no 
other reason than that the Chaldean youth could not compete 
with those of Israel in the qualifications, both mental and 
physical, necessary to such a position. 



Verse 6. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, 
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah : 7. Unto whom the prince of the eu- 
nuchs gave names ; for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar ; 
and to Hananiah, of Shadrach ; and to Mishael, of Meshach ; and to 
Azariah, of Abed-nego. 



2ft PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

This change of names was probably made on account of 
the signification of the words. Tiius, Daniel signified, in the 
Hebrew, God is my judge ; Hananiah, gift of the Lord ; 
Mishael, he that is a strong God ; and Azariah, help of the 
Lord. These names each having some reference to the true 
God, and signifying some connection with his worship, were 
changed to names the definition of which bore a like relation to 
the heathen divinities and worship of the Chaldeans. Thus 
Belteshazzar, the name given to Daniel, signified keeper of the 
hid treasures of Bel; Shadrach, inspiration of the sun (which 
the Chaldeans worshiped); Meshach, of the goddess Shaca 
(under which name Yenus was worshiped); and Abed-nego, 
servant of the shining fire (which they also worshiped). 

Verse 8. Bat Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile 
himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he 
drank ; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he 
might not defile himself. 9. Now God had brought Daniel into favor 
and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. 10. And the prince of 
the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath 
appointed your meat and your drink ; for why should he see your faces 
worse liking than the children which are of j^our sort ? then shall ye 
make me endanger my head to the king. 11. Then said Daniel to 
Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, 
Mishael, and Azariah, 12. Prove thy servants, 1 beseech thee, ten days; 
and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13. Then let our 
countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the 
children that eat of the portion of the king's meat ; and as thou seest, 
deal with thy servants. 14. So he consented to them in this matter, 
and proved them ten days. 15. And at tlie end of ten days their counte- 
nances appeared fairer and fatter in tiesh than all the children which 
did eat the portion of the king's meat. 16. Thus Melzar took away the 
portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink ; and gave 
them pulse. 

Nebuchadnezzar appears upon this record wonderfully free 
from bigotry. It seems that he took no means to compel his 
royal captives to change their religion. Provided they had some 
religion, he seemed to be satisfied, whether it w^as the religion 
he professed or not. And although their names had been 
changed to signify some connection with heathen worship, this 
may have been more to avoid the use of Jewish names by the 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 8-16. 29 

Chaldeans than to indicate any change of sentiment or practice 
on the part of those to whom these names were given. 

Daniel purposed not to defile himself with the king's meat 
nor with his wine. Daniel had other reasons for this course 
than simply the effect of such a diet upon his physical system, 
though he would derive great advantage m this respect from 
the fare he proposed to adopt. But it was frequently the case 
that the meat used by the kings and princes of heathen nations, 
who were often the high priests of their religion, was first of- 
fered in sacrifice to idols, and the wine they used, poured out as 
a libation before them ; and again, some of the meat of which 
they made use, was pronounced mi clean by the Jewish law; 
and on either of these grounds Daniel could not, consistently 
with his religion, partake of these articles; hence he requested, 
not from any morose or sullen temper, but from conscientious 
scruples, that he might not be obliged to defile himself; and he 
respectfully made his request known to the proper officer. 
The prince of the eunuchs feared to grant Daniel's request, 
since the king himself had appointed their meat. This shows 
the great personal interest the king took in these persons. He 
did not commit them to the hands of his servants, telling them 
to care for them in the- best manner, without himself entering 
into its details; but he himself appointed their meat and drink. 
And this was of a kind which it was honestly supposed would 
be best for them, inasmuch as the prince of the eunuchs thought 
that a departure from it would render them poorer in flesh and 
less ruddy of countenance than those who continued it; and 
thus he would be brought to account for neglect or ill-treatment 
of them, and so lose his head. Yet it was equally well under- 
stood that if they maintained good physical conditions, the 
king would take no exception to the means used, though it 
might be contrary to his own express direction. It appears 
that the king's sincere object was to secure in them, by what- 
ever means it could be done, the very best mental and physical 
development that could be attained. How dift'erent this from 
the bigotry and tyranny which usually hold supreme control 
over the hearts of those who are clothed with absolute power. 



30 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

In the character of Nebuchadnezzar we shall find many things 
worthy of our highest admiration. 

Daniel requested pulse and water for himself and his three 
companions. Pulse is a vegetable food of the leguminous kind, 
like peas, beans, etc. Bagster says, ^^ Zeroim denotes all le- 
guminous plants, which are not reaped, but pulled or plucked, 
which, however wholesome, were not naturally calculated to 
render them fatter in flesh than the others. ' ' 

A ten days' trial of this diet resulting favorably, they were 
permitted to continue it during the whole course of their train- 
ing for the duties of the palace. Their increase in flesh and 
improvement in countenance which took place durmg these ten 
days, can hardly be attributed to the natural result of the diet; 
for it would hardly produce such marked effects in so short a 
time. Is it not much more natural to conclude that this re- 
sult was produced by a special interposition of the Lord, as a 
token of his approbation of the course on which they had 
entered, which course, if persevered in, would in process of 
time lead to the same result through the natural operation of 
the laws of their being % 

Verse 17. As for these four children, God g-ave them knowledge and 
skill in all learning and wisdom ; and Daniel had understanding in all 
visions and dreams. 18. Now at the end of the days that the king had 
said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought 
them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19. And the king communed with 
them ; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, 
Mishael. and Azariah : therefore stood they before the king. 20. And in 
all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king required of them, 
he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers 
^hat were in all his realm. 21. And Daniel continued even unto the first 
year of king Cyrus. 

To Daniel alone seems to have been committed an under- 
standing in visions and dreams. But the Lord's dealing with 
Daniel in this respect does not prove the others any the less 
accepted in his sight. Preservation in the midst of the fiery 
furnace was as good evidence of the divine favor as they could 
have had. Daniel probably had some natural qualifications 
that peculiarly fitted him for this sj^ecial work. 



CHAPTER 1, VERSES 17-21. 



31 



The same personal interest in these individuals heretofore 
manifested by the king, he still continued to maintain. At the 
end of the three years, he called them to a personal interview. 
He must know for himself how they had fared, and what 
proficiency they had made. This interview also shows the 
king to have been a man well versed in all the arts and sciences 
of the Chaldeans, else he would not have been qualified to ex- 
amine others therein. As the result, recognizing merit wher- 
ever he saw it, without respect to religion or nationality, he 
acknowledged them to be ten times superior to any in his own 
land. 

And it is added that Daniel continued even unto the first 
year of King Cyrus. This is an instance of the somewhat 
singular use of the word %mto^ or until^ which occasionally 
occurs in the sacred writings. It does not mean that he con- 
tinued no longer than to the first year of Cyrus, for he lived 
some years after the commencement of his reign; but this is 
the time to which the writer wished to direct especial attention, 
as it brought deliverance to the captive Jews. A similar use 
of the word is found in Ps. 112 : 8 and Matt. 5 : 18. 




1VVW\ 





Vekse 1. And in the second year of the reign of iSTebuchadnezzar, 
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, whereM'ith his spirit was troubled, and 
his sleep brake from him. 

^'ANIEL was carried into captivity in the first year of 
Nebuchadnezzar. For three years he was placed under 
instructors, during which time he would not, of course, 
be reckoned among the wise men of the kingdom, nor take part 
in public affairs. Yet in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar, 
the transactions recorded in this chapter took place. How, 
then, could Daniel be brought in to interpret the king's dream 
in his second year ? The explanation lies in the fact that 
Nebuchadnezzar reigned for two years conjointly with his 
father, Nabopollassar. From this point the Jews reckoned, 
while the Chaldeans reckoned from the time he commenced to 
reign alone, on the death of his father. Hence, the year here 
mentioned was the second year of his reign according to the 
Chaldean reckoning, but the fourth according to the Jewish. 
It thus appears that the very next year after Daniel liad com- 
pleted his preparation to participate in the affairs of the Chal- 
dean empire, the providence of God brought liim into sudden 
and wonderful notoriety throughout all the kingdom. 

Verse 2. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the 
astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king 
his dreams. So they came and stood before the kin§. 
[32j 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 3, 4. 33 

Tlie magicians were such as practiced magic, using the 
term in its bad sense; that is, they practiced all the supersti- 
tious rites and ceremonies of fortune-tellers, casters of nativi- 
ties, etc. Astrologers were men who pretended to foretell 
future events by the study of the stars. The science, or the 
superstition, of astrology was extensively cultivated by the 
Eastern nations of antiquity. Sorcerers were such as pretended 
to hold communication with the dead. In this sense, we believe, 
it is always used in the Scriptures. Modern Spiritualism is sim- 
ply ancient heathen sorcery revived. The Chaldeans here men- 
tioned were a sect of philosophers similar to the magicians and 
astrologers, who made physic, divinations, etc., their study. 
All these sects or professions abounded in Babylon. The end 
aimed at by each was the same; namely, the explaining of 
mysteries and the foretelling of future events, the principal 
difference between them being the means by which they sought 
to accomplish their object. The king's difficulty lay equally 
within the province of each to explain; hence he summoned 
them all. With the king it was an important matter. He was 
greatly troubled, and therefore concentrated upon the solution 
of his perplexity the whole wisdom of his realm. 

Veese 3. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and 
my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 4, Then spake the Chaldeans 
to the king in Sj^riack, O King, live forever ; tell thy servants the dream, 
and we will show the interpretation. 

Whatever else the ancient magicians and astrologers may 
have been deficient in, they seem to have been thoroughly 
schooled in the art of drawing out sufficient information to 
form a basis for some shrewd calculation, or of framing their 
answers in so ambiguous a manner that they would be equally 
applicable, let the event turn either way. In the present case, 
true to theu' cunning instincts, they called upon the king to 
make known to them his dream. If they could get full infor- 
mation respecting this, they could easily agree on some inter- 
pretation which would not endanger their reputation. They 
addressed themselves to the king in Syriac, a dialect of the 
Chaldean language which was used by the educated and cul- 



34 Prophecy op daniel. 

tured classes. From this point to the end of chapter 7, the 
record continues in Chaldaic. 

VeiiseJ 5. The king answered and said to tlie Clialdeans, Tlie thibg is 
gone from me ; if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the 
interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be 
made a dunghill. 6. But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation 
thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor ; there- 
fpze show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. 7. They 
answered again and said. Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we 
will show the interpretation of it. 8. The king answered and said, I 
know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing 
is gone from me. 9. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, 
there is but one decree for you ; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt 
words to speak before me, till the time be chang^ed ; therefore tell me the 
dream, and I shall know that je can show me the interpretation thereof. 
10. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said. There is not a 
man upon the earth that can show the king's matter ; therefore there is 
no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or 
astrologer, or Chaldean. 11. And it is a rare thing that the king requir- 
eth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the 
gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12. For this cause the king was 
angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of 
Babylon. 13. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be 
slain ; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. 

These verses contain the record of the desperate struggle 
between the wise men, so called, and the king ; the former 
seeking some avenue of escape, seeing they were caught on 
their own ground, and the latter determined that they should 
make known his dream, which was no more than their profes- 
sion would warrant him in demanding. Some have severely 
censured ITebuchadnezzar in this matter, as acting the part of a 
heartless, unreasonable tyrant. But what did these magicians 
profess to be able to do ? — To reveal hidden things ; to fore- 
tell future events; to make known mysteries entirely beyond 
human foresight and penetration; and to do this by the aid of 
supernatural agencies. If, then, their claim was worth any- 
thing, could they not make known to the king what he had 
dreamed? — They certainly could. And if they Avore able, 
knowing the dream, to give a reliable interpretation thereof, 
would they not also be able to make known tlie dream itself 
when it had gone from the king ? — Certainly, if there was any 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 15-18. 35 

virtue in their pretended intercourse with the other world. 
There was therefore nothing unjust in Nebuchadnezzar's de- 
mand that they should make known his dream. And when they 
declared (verse 11) that none but the gods whose dwelling was 
not with flesh could make known the king's matter, it was a 
tacit acknowledgment that they had no communication with 
these gods, and knew nothing beyond what human wisdom and 
discernment could reveal. For this cause, the king was angry 
and very fiirious. He saw that he and all his people were 
being made the victims of deception. He accused them (verse 
9) of endeavoring to dally along till the "time be changed," 
or till the matter had so passed from his mind that his anger 
at their duplicity should abate, and he would either recall the 
dream himself, or be unsolicitous whether it were made known 
and interpreted or not. And while we cannot justify the 
extreme measures to which he resorted, dooming them to death, 
and their houses to destruction, we can bub feel a hearty 
sympathy with him in his condemnation of a class of miserable 
impostors. The severity of his sentence was probably attribu- 
table more to the customs of those times than to any malignity 
on the part of the king. Yet it was a bold and desperate step. 
Consider who these were who thus incurred the wrath of the 
king. They were numerous, opulent, and influential sects. 
Moreover, they were the learned and cultivated classes of those 
times; yet the king was not so wedded to his false religion as 
to spare it even with all this influence in its favor. If the 
system was one of fraud and imposition, it must fall, however 
high its votaries might stand in numbers or position, or how- 
ever many of them might be involved in its ruin. The king 
would be no party to dishonesty or deception. 

Yerse 14. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch 
the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay tlie wise 
men of Babylon. 15. He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, 
Why is the decree so hasty from the king ? Then Arioch made the thing 
known to Daniel. 16. Then Daniel went in, -and desired of the king that 
he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpreta- 
tion. 17. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to 
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions ; 18. That they would 



30 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

d(;sire mercies of the God of heaven concerning: this secret : that Daniel 
and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 

In this narrative we see the providence of God working in 
several remarkable particulars. 

1. It was providential that the dream of the king shoukl 
leave such a powerful impression upon his mind as to raise 
him to the greatest height of anxiety, and yet the thing itself 
be held from his recollection. This led to the complete 
exposure of the false system of the magicians and other pagan 
teachers; for when put to the test to make known the dream, 
it was found that they were unable to do what their profession 
made it incumbent on them to do. 

2. It was remarkable that Daniel and his companions, so 
lately pronounced by the king ten times better than all his 
magicians and astrologers, should not sooner have been con- 
sulted, or, rather, should not have been consulted at all, in 
this matter. But there was a providence in this. Just as the 
dream was held from the king, so he was unaccountably held 
from appealing to Daniel for a solution of the mystery. For 
had he called on Daniel at first, and had he at once made 
known the matter, the magicians would not have been brought 
to the test. But God would give the heathen systems of the 
Chaldeans the first chance. He would let them try, and 
ignominiously fail, and confess their utter incompetency, even 
under the penalty of death, that they might be the better pre- 
pared to acknowledge his hand when he should finally reach it 
down in behalf of his captive servants, and for the honor of 
his own name. 

3. It appears that the first intimation Daniel liad of the 
matter was the presence of the executioners, come for his 
arrest. His own life being thus at stake, he would be led to 
seek the Lord with all liis heart till he should work for their 
deliverance. Daniel gains his request of the king for time to 
consider the matter, — a privilege which probably none of the 
magicians could have secured, as the king had already accused 
them of preparing lying and corrupt words, and of seeking to 
gain time for this very purpose. Daniel at once went to his 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 19-23. 37 

three companions, and engaged them to unite with him in 
desiring mercy of the God of heaven concerning this secret. 
He could have prayed alone, and doubtless would have been 
heard; but then, as now, in the union of God's people there is 
prevailmg power; and the promise of the accomplishment of 
that which is asked, is to the two or three who shall agree 
concerning it. Matt. 18:20. 

Verse 19. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night 
vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven, 20. Daniel answered 
and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever ; for wisdom and 
might are his ; 21. And he changeth the times and the seasons ; he 
removeth kings, and setteth up kings ; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, 
and knowledge to them that know understanding, 22. He revealeth the 
deep and secret things ; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the 
light dwelleth with him. 23. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God 
of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made 
known unto me now what we desired of thee; for thou hast now made 
known unto us the king's matter. 

Whether or not the answer came while Daniel and his 
companions were yet offering up their petitions, we are not 
informed. If it did, it shows their importunity in the matter; 
for it was through a night vision that God revealed himself in 
their behalf, which would show that they continued their 
supplications, as might reasonably be inferred, far into the 
night, and ceased not till the answer was obtained. Or, if 
their season of prayer had closed, and God at a subsequent 
time sent the answer, it would show us that, as is sometimes 
the case, prayers are not unavailing though not immediately 
answered. Some think the matter was made known to Daniel 
by his dreaming the same dream that Nebuchadnezzar had 
dreamed; but Matthew Henry considers it more probable that 
"when he was awake, and continuing instant in prayer, and 
w^atching in the same, the dream itself and the interpretation 
of it were communicated to him by the ministry of an angel, 
abundantly to his satisfaction. ' ' The words, ' ' night vision, ' ' 
mean anything that is seen, whether through dreams or visions. 

Daniel immediately offered up praise to God for his gracious 
dealing w^ith them; and while his prayer is not preserved, his 



38 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

responsive thanksgiving is fully recorded. God is honored by 
our rendering him praise for the things he has done for us, as 
well as by our acknowledging through prayer our need of his 
help. Let Daniel' s course be our example in this respect. Let 
no mercv from the hand of God fail of its due return of 
thanksgiving and praise. Were not ten lepers cleansed ? 
' ' But where, ' ' asks Christ sorrowfully, ' ' are the nine ? " Luke 
17:17. 

Daniel had the utmost confidence in what had been shown 
him. He did not first go to the king, to see if what had been 
revealed to him was indeed the king's dream ; but he immedi- 
ately praised Ggd for having answered his prayer. 

Although the matter was revealed to Daniel, he did not 
take honor to himself as though it were by his prayers alone 
that this thing had been obtained, but immediately associated 
his companions with himself, and acknowledged it to be as 
much an answer to their prayers as to his own. It was, said 
he, ''what we desired of thee," and thou hast made it "known 
unto -i^s." 

Verse 24. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king 
had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon ; he went and said 
thus unto him : Destroy not the wise men of Babylon ; bring me in 
before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. 

Daniel's first plea is for the wise men of Babylon. Destroy 
them not, for the king's secret is revealed. True, it was 
through no merit of theirs or their heathen systems of divina- 
tion that this revelation was made; they were worthy of just 
as much condemnation as before. But their own confession of 
utter impotence in the matter was humiliation enough for 
them, and Daniel was anxious that they should so far partake 
of the benefits shown to him as to have their own lives spared. 
Thus they were saved because there was a man of God among 
them. And thus it ever is. For the sake of Paul and Silas, 
all the prisoners with them were loosed. Acts 16 : Hi). For 
the sake of Paul, the lives of all that sailed with him were 
saved. Chapter 27 : 24. Thus the wicked are benefited by 
the presence of the righteous. Well would it be if they would 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 24-28. 39 

remember the obligations under which thej are thus placed. 
What saves the world to-day ? For whose sake is it still 
spared? — For the sake of the few righteous persons who are 
yet left. Kemove these, and how long would the wicked be 
suffered to run their guilty career ? — No longer than the ante- 
diluvians were suffered, after Noah had entered the ark, or the 
Sodomites, after Lot had departed from their polluted and 
polluting presence. If only ten righteous persons could have 
been found in Sodom, the multitude of its wicked inhabitants 
would, for their sakes, have been spared. Yet the wicked will 
despise, ridicule, and oppress the very ones on whose account 
it is that they are still permitted the enjoyment of life and all 
its blessings. 

Verse 25. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, 
and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, 
that will make known unto the king the interpretation. 

It is ever a characteristic of ministers and courtiers to 
ingratiate themselves with their sovereign.. So here Arioch 
represented that he had found a man who could make known 
the desired interpretation; as though with great disinterested- 
ness, in behalf of the king, he had been searching for some one 
to solve his difficulty, and had at last found him. In order to 
see through this deception of his chief executioner, the king 
had but to remember, as he probably did, his interview with 
Daniel (verse 16), and Daniel's promise, if time could be 
granted,' to show the interpretation thereof, 

Veese 26. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was 
Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I 
have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 27. Daniel answered in the 
presence of the king, and said. The secret which the king hath demanded 
cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsaj'ers, 
show unto the king ; 28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth 
secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in 
the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, 
are these. 

Art thou able to make known the dream ? was the king's 
doubtful salutation to Daniel, as he came into his presence. 
Notwithstanding his previous acquaintance with Daniel, the 



40 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

king seems to have questioned his ability, so yoimg and inex- 
perienced, to make known a matter in which the aged and 
venerable magicians and soothsayers had utterly failed. Daniel 
declared plainly that the wise men, the astrologers, the sooth- 
sayers, and the magicians could not make known this secret. 
It was beyond their power. Therefore the king should not be 
angry with them, nor put confidence in their inefficient super- 
stitions. He then proceeds to make known the true God, who 
rules in heaven, and is the only revealer of secrets. And he it 
is, says Daniel, who maketh known to the king Nebuchad- 
nezzar what shall be in the latter days. 

Verse 29. As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind 
upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter ; and he that revealeth 
secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30. But as for 
me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more 
than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpre- 
tation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy 
heart. 

Here is brought out another of the commendable traits of 
Nebuchadnezzar's character. Unlike some rulers, who till up 
the present with folly and debauchery without regard to the 
future, he thought forward upon the days to come, with an 
anxious desire to know with what events they should be filled. 
His object in this was, doubtless, that he might the better know 
how to make "a wise improvement of the present. For this rea- 
son God gave him this dream, which we must regard as a token 
of the divine favor toward the king, as there were many other 
ways in which the truth involved in this matter could have 
been brought out, equally to the honor of God's name, and the 
good of his people both at that time and through subsequent 
generations. Yet God would not work for the king independ- 
ently of his own people; hence, though he gave the dream to 
the king, he sent the interpretation through one of his own 
acknowledged servants. Daniel first disclaimed all credit for 
himself in the transaction, and then to modify somewhat the 
feelings of pride which it would have been natural for the king 
to have, in view of being thus noticed by the God of heaven, 
he informed him indirectly, that, although the dream had been 




THE GREAT WORLD-KINGDOM IMAGE, DAN. 2 : 34, 38. 



CtlAPTER 2, VERSES 29-35. 41 

given to him, it was not for his sake altogether that the inter- 
pretation was sent, but for their sakes through whom it should 
be made known. Ah! God had some servants there, and it 
was for them that he was working. They are of more value in 
his sight than the mightiest kings and potentates of earth. Had 
it not been for them, the king would never have had the inter- 
pretation of his dream, probably not even the dream itself. 
Thus, when traced to their source, all favors, upon whomsoever 
bestowed, are found to be due to the regard which God has for 
his own children. How comprehensive was the work of God 
in this instance. By this one act of revealing the king's dream 
to Daniel, he accomplished the following objects : (1) He made 
known to the king the things he desired; (2) He saved his 
servants who trusted in him ; (3) He brought conspicuously 
before the Chaldean nation the knowledge of the true God; (4) 
He poured contempt on the false systems of the soothsayers 
and magicians; and (5) He honored his own name, and ex- 
alted his servants in their eyes. 

Verse 31. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This 
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the 
form thereof was terrible. 32. This image's head was of fine gold, his 
breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33. His 
legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34. Thou sawest till 
that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his 
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35. Then was 
the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces 
together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; 
and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them ; 
and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled 
the whole earth. 

]^ebuchadnezzar, practicing the Chaldean religion, was an 
idolater. An image was an object which would at once com- 
mand his attention and respect. Moreover, earthly kingdoms, 
which, as we shall hereafter see, were represented by this 
image, were objects of esteem and value in his eyes. With 
a mind unenlightened by the light of revelation, he was unpre- 
pared to put a true estimate upon earthly wealth and glory, 
and to look upon earthly governments in their true light. 
Hence the striking harmony between the estimate which he 



42 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

put upon tlie8o things, and the object by which they were 
symbolized before him. To him, they were presented under 
the form of a great image, an object in his eyes of worth and 
admiration. With Daniel the case was far different. He was 
able to view in its true light all greatness and glory not built 
on the favor and approbation of God; and therefore to liim 
these same earthly kingdoms were afterward shown (see chap- 
ter 7) under the form of cruel and ravenous wild beasts. 

But how admirably adapted was this representation to con- 
vey a great and needful truth to the mind of Nebuchadnezzar. 
Besides delineating the progress of events through the whole 
course of time for the benefit of his people, God would show 
Nebuchadnezzar the utter emptiness and worthlessness of 
earthly pomp and glory. And how could this be more im- 
pressively done than by an image commencing with the most 
precious of metals, and continually descending to the baser, 
till we finally have the coarsest and crudest of materials, — iron 
mingled with the miry clay, — the whole then dashed to pieces, 
and made like the empty chaff, no good thing in it, but alto- 
gether lighter than vanity, and finally blown away where no 
place could be found for it, after which something durable and 
of heavenly worth occupies its place ? So would God show 
to the children of men that earthly kingdoms were to pass 
away, and earthly greatness and glory, like a gaudy bubble, 
would break and vanish ; and the kingdom of God, in the 
place so long usurped by these, should be set up, to have no 
end, and all who had an interest therein should rest under the 
shadow of its peaceful wings forever and ever. But this is 
anticipating. 

Versk 3(). This is the dream ; and wo will tell the interpretation 
thereof before the king. 37. Thou, () kintj-, art a king of kings; for the 
(Jod of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 
38. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and 
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made 
thet^ ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 

Now opens one of the sublimest chapters of human history. 
Ei^ht short verses of the inspired record tell the whole story; 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 36-38. 43 

yet that story embraces the history of this world's pomp and 
power. A few moments will suffice to commit it to memory; 
yet the period which it covers, commencing more than twenty- 
five centuries ago, reaches on from that far-distant point past 
the rise and fall of kingdoms, past the setting up and over- 
throw of empires, past cycles and ages, past our own day, over 
into the eternal state. It is so comprehensive that it embraces 
all this; yet it is so minute that it gives us all the great out- 
lines of earthly kingdoms from that time to this. Human 
wisdom never devised so brief a record which embraced so 
much. Human language never set forth in so few words, so 
great a volume of historical truth. The finger of God is here. 
Let us heed the lesson well. 

With what interest, as well as astonishment, must the king 
have listened, as he was informed by the prophet that he, or 
rather his kingdom, the king being here put for his kingdom 
(see the following verse), was the golden head of the magnifi- 
cent image which he had seen. Ancient kings were grateful 
for success ; and in cases of prosperity, the tutelar deity to 
whom they attributed their success, was the adorable object 
upon which they would lavish their richest treasures and be- 
stow theii' best devotions. Daniel indirectly informs the king 
that in his case all these are due to the God of heaven, since 
he is the one who has given him his kingdom, and made him 
ruler over all. This would restrain him from the pride of 
thinking that he had attained his position by his own power 
and wisdom, and would enlist the gratitude of his heart toward 
the true God. 

The kingdom of Babylon, which finally developed into the 
golden head of this great historic image, was founded by ]Nim- 
rod, the great-grandson of Noah, over two thousand years 
before Christ. Gen. 10:8-10: "And Gush begat Mmrod ; 
he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty 
hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is said. Even as E'imrod, 
the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his 
kingdom was Babel \mcorgin, Babylon], and Erech, and Accad, 
and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." It appears that Nimrod 



44 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

also founded the city of Nineveh, which afterward became the 
capital of Syria. (See marginal reading of Gen. 10:11, and 
Johnson's Cyclopedia, art. Syria.) The following sketch of 
the history of Babylon, from Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia, 
art. Babylon, is according to the latest authorities on this 
subject : — 

''About 1270 B. c, the Assyrian kings became masters of 
Chaldea, or Babylonia, of which Babylon was the capital. This 
country was afterward ruled by an Assyrian dynasty of kings, 
who reigned at Babylon, and sometimes waged war against 
those who reigned in Assyria proper. At other times the 
kings of Babylon were tributary to those of Assyria. Several 
centuries elapsed in which the history of Babylon is almost a 
blank. In the time of Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, Nabonassar 
ascended the throne of Babylon in 747 b. c. He is celebrated 
for the chronological era which bears his name, and which 
began in 747 b. c. About 720 Merodach-baladan became king 
of Babylon, and sent ambassadors to Hezekiah, king of Ju- 
dah (see 2 Kings 20, and Isa. 39). A few years later, Sargon, 
king of Assyria, defeated and dethroned Merodach-baladan. 
Sennacherib completed the subjection of Babylon, which he 
annexed to the Assyrian empire about 690 b. c. The con- 
quest of Nineveh and the subversion of the Assyrian empire, 
which was effected about 625 b. c, by Cyaxeres the Mede, 
and his ally Kabopolassar, the rebellious governor of Babylon, 
enabled the latter to found the Babylonian empire, which was 
the fourth of Kawlinson's ' Five Great Monarchies,' and in- 
cluded the valley of the Euphrates, Susiana, Syria, and Pal- 
estine. His reign lasted about twenty-one years, and was 
probably pacific, as the history of it is nearly a blank; but in 
605 b. c. his army defeated Neco, king of Egypt, who had 
invaded Syria. He was succeeded by his more famous son, 
Nebuchadnezzar (604 b. c), who was the greatest of the kings 
of Babylon." 

Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar in the first year 
of his reign, and third year of Jehoiakim, king (^f eludah 
(Dan. 1:1), b, o. 606. Nebuchadnezzar reigned two years 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 36-38. 45 

conjointly with his father, Nabopolassar. From this point the 
Jews computed his reign, but the Chaldeans from the date 
of his sole reign, 604 b. c, as stated above. Respecting the 
successors of Nebuchadnezzar, the authority above quoted 
adds : — 

''He died in 561 b. c, and was succeeded by his son 
Evil-merodach who reigned only two years. Nabonadius (or 
Labynetus), who became king in 555 b. c, formed an alliance 
with Croesus against Cyrus the Great. He appears to have 
shared the royal power with his son, Belshazzar, whose mother 
was a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. Cyrus besieged Babylon, 
which he took by stratagem in 538 b. o., and with the death of 
Belshazzar, whom the Persians killed, the kingdom of Babylon 
ceased to exist." 

When we say that the image of Daniel 2 symbolizes the 
four great prophetic universal monarchies, and reckon Babylon 
as the first of these, it is asked how this can be true, when 
every country in the world was not absolutely under the 
dominion of any one of them. Thus Babylon never conquered 
Grecia or Rome; but Rome was founded before Babylon had 
risen to the zenith of its power. Rome's position and influ- 
ence, however, were then altogether prospective; and it is 
nothing against the prophecy, that God begins to prepare his 
agents long years before they enter upon the prominent part 
they are to perform in the fulfilment of prophecy. We must 
place ourselves with the prophet, and view these kingdoms 
from the same standpoint. We shall then, as is right, con- 
sider his statements in the light of the location he occupied, 
the time in which he wrote, and the circumstances by which 
he was surrounded. It is a manifest rule of interpretation that 
we may look for nations to be noticed in prophecy when they 
become so far connected with the people of God that mention 
of them becomes necessary to make the records of sacred his- 
tory complete. When this was the case with Babylon, it was, 
from the standpoint of the prophet, the great and overtowering 
object in the political world. In his eye, it necessarily eclipsed 
all else; and he would naturally speak of it as a kingdom 



46 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

having rule over all the earth. So far as we know, all prov- 
inces or countries against which Babylon did move in the 
hight of its power, were subdued bj its arms. In this sense, 
all were in its power; and this fact will explain the somewhat 
hyperbolical language of verse 38. That there were some 
portions of territory and considerable numbers of people un- 
known to history, and outside the pale of civilization as it then 
existed, which were neither discovered nor subdued, is not a 
fact of sufficient strength or importance to condemn the expres- 
sion of the prophet, or to falsify the prophecy. 

In 606 B. c. Babylon came in contact with the people of 
God, when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and led 
Judah into captivity. It comes at this point, consequently, 
into the field of prophecy, at the end of the Jewish theocracy. 

The character of this empire is indicated by the nature of 
the material composing that portion of the image by which it 
was symbolized — the head of gold. It was the golden king- 
dom of a golden age. Babylon, its metropolis, towered to a 
hight never reached by any of its successors. Situated in 
the garden of the East ; laid out in a perfect square sixty 
miles in circumference, fifteen miles on each side; surrounded 
by a wall three hundred and fifty feet high and eighty-seven 
feet thick, with a moat, or ditch, around this, of equal cubic 
capacity with the wall itself ; divided into six hundred and 
seventy-six squares, each two and a quarter miles in circum- 
ference, by its fifty streets, each one hundred and fifty feet in 
width, crossing each other at right angles, twenty-five running 
each way, every one of them straight and level and fifteen 
miles in length; its two hundred and twenty-five square miles 
of inclosed surface, divided as just described, laid out in 
luxuriant pleasure-grounds and gardens, interspersed with mag- 
nificent dwellings, — this city, with its sixty miles of moat, its 
sixty miles of outer wall, its thirty miles of river wall through 
its center, its hundred and fifty gates of solid brass, its hang- 
ing gardens, rising terrace above terrace, till they equaled in 
liight the walls themselves, its temple of Belus, three miles in 
circumference, its two royal palaces, one three and a half, and 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 36-88. 47 

the other eight miles in circumference, with its subterranean 
tunnel under the River Euphrates connecting these two pal- 
aces, its perfect arrangements for convenience, ornament, and 
defense, and its unlimited resources, — this city, containing in 
itself many things which were themselves wonders of the 
world, was itself another and still mightier wonder. Never 
before saw the earth a city like that; never since has it seen its 
equal. And there, with the whole earth prostrate at her feet, 
a queen in peerless grandeur, drawing from the pen of inspira- 
tion itself this glowing title, ' ' The glory of kingdoms, the 
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," sat this city, fit capital of 
that kingdom which constituted the golden head of this great 
historic image. 

Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar, in the prime of 
life, bold, vigorous, and accomplished, seated upon its throne, 
when Daniel entered its impregnable walls to serve a captive 
for seventy years in its gorgeous palaces. There the children 
of the Lord, oppressed more than cheered by the glory and 
prosperity of the land of their captivity, hung their harps on 
the willows of the sparkling Euphrates, and wept when they 
remembered Zion. 

And there commenced the captive state of the church in a 
still broader sense; for, ever since that time, the people of 
God have been in subjection to, and more or less oppressed by, 
earthly powers. And so they will be, till all earthly powers 
shall finally yield to Him whose right it is to reign. And lo ! 
the day of deliverance draws on apace. 

Into another city, not only Daniel, but all the children of 
God, from least to greatest, from lowest to highest, from first 
to last, are soon to enter; a city not merely sixty miles in cir- 
cumference, but fifteen hundred miles; a city whose walls are 
not brick and bitumen, but precious stones and jasper; whose 
streets are not the stone-paved streets of Babylon, smooth and 
beautiful as they were, but transparent gold; whose river is 
not the mournful waters of the Euphrates, but the river of life ; 
whose music is not the sighs and laments of broken-hearted 
captives, but the thrilling pseans of victory over death and the 



4^ PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

grave, which ransomed multitudes shall raise; whose light is 
not the intermittent light of earth, but the unceasing and in- 
effable glory of God and the Lamb. Into this city they shall 
enter, not as captives entering a foreign land, but as exiles 
returning to their father's house; not as to a place where 
such chilling words as ''bondage," "servitude," and "oppres- 
sion," shall weigh down their spirits, but to one where the 
sweet words, ' ' home, " " freedom, " " peace, " " pnrity , ' ' 
"unutterable bliss," and "unending life," shall thrill their 
bosoms with delight forever and ever. Yea; our mouths shall 
be filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing, when the 
Lord shall turn again the captivity of Zion. Ps. 126 : 1, 2; 
Kev. 21:1-27. 

Verse 39. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to 
thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all 
the earth, 

Nebuchadnezzar reigned forty-three years, and was suc- 
ceeded by the following rulers : His son, Evil-merodach, two 
years; Neriglissar, his son-in-law, four years; Laborosoarchod, 
Neriglissar's son, nine months, which, being less than one 
year, is not counted in the canon of Ptolemy; and lastly, 
Nabonadius, whose son, Belshazzar, grandson of Nebuchad- 
nezzar, was associated with him on the throne, and with whom 
that kingdom came to an end. 

In the first year of Neriglissar, only two years after the 
death of Nebuchadnezzar, broke out that fatal war between 
the Babylonians and the Modes, which was to result in the 
utter subversion of the Babylonian kingdom. Cyaxeres, king of 
the Modes, who is called " Darius " in Dan. 5 : 81, summoned 
to his aid his nephew, Cyrus, of the Persian line, in his efforts 
against the Babylonians. The war was prosecuted with unin- 
terrupted success on the part of the Medes and Persians, until, 
in the eighteenth year of Nabonadius (the third year of his son 
Belshazzar), Cyrus laid siege to Babylon, the only city in all 
the East which then held out against him. The Babylonians, 
gathered within their impregnable walls, with provision on 
hand for twenty years, and land within the limits of their 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 39. 49 

broad city sufficient to furnish food for the inhabitants and 
garrison for an indefinite period, scoffed at Cyrus from their 
lofty walls, and derided his seemingly useless efforts to bring 
them into subjection. And according to all human calculation, 
they had good ground for their feelings of security. Never, 
weighed in the balance of any earthly probability, with the 
means of warfare then known, could that city be taken. 
Hence, they breathed as freely and slept as soundly as though 
no foe were waiting and watching for their destruction around 
their beleaguered walls. But God had decreed that the proud 
and wicked city should come down from her throne of glory; 
and when he speaks, what mortal arm can defeat his word ? 

In their very feeling of security lay the source of their 
danger. Cyrus resolved to accomplish by stratagem what he 
could not effect by force; and learning of the approach of an 
annual festival, in which the whole city would be given up to 
mirth and revelry, he fixed upon that day as the time to carry 
his purpose into execution. There was no entrance for him 
into that city except he could find it where the River Euphrates 
entered and emerged, passing under its walls. He resolved to 
make the channel of the river his own highway into the strong- 
hold of his enemy. To do this, the water must be turned aside 
from its channel through the city. For this purpose, on the 
evening of the feast-day above referred to, he detailed three 
bodies of soldiers, the first, to turn the river at a given hour 
into a large artificial lake a short distance above the city; the 
second, to take their station at the point where the river en- 
tered the city; the third, to take a position fifteen miles below, 
where the river emerged from the city; and these two latter 
parties were instructed to enter the channel, just as soon as 
they found the river fordable, and in the darkness of the night 
explore their way beneath the walls, and press on to the palace 
of the king, where they were to meet, surprise the palace, slay 
the guards, and capture or slay the king. When the water was 
turned into the lake mentioned above, the river soon became 
fordable, and the soldiers detailed for that purpose followed its 
channel into the heart of the city of Babylon. 
4 



50 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

But all this would have been in vain, had not the whole 
city, on that eventful night, given themselves over to the most 
reckless carelessness and presumption, a state of things upon 
which Cyrus calculated largely for the carrying out of his 
purpose. For on each side of the river, through the entire 
length of the city^ were walls of great hight, and of equal 
thickness with the outer walls. In these walls were huge 
gates of solid brass, which, when closed and guarded, debarred 
all entrance from the river bed to any and all of the twenty- 
five streets that crossed the river ; and had they been thus 
closed at this time, the soldiers of Cyrus might have marched 
into the city along the river bed, and then marched out again, 
for all that they would have been able to accomplish toward the 
subjugation of the place. But in the drunken revelry of that 
fatal night, these river gates were all left open, and the entrance 
of the Persian soldiers was not perceived. Many a cheek would 
have paled with terror, had they noticed the sudden going 
down of the river, and understood its fearful import. Many a 
tongue would have spread wild alarm through the city, had 
they seen the dark forms of their armed foe stealthily threading 
their way to the citadel of their strength. But no one noticed 
the sudden subsidence of the waters of the river; no one saw 
the entrance of the Persian warriors; no one took care that 
the river gates should be closed and guarded; no one cared for 
aught but to see how deeply and recklessly he could plunge 
into the wild debauch. That night's work cost them their 
kingdom and their freedom. They went into their brutish 
revelry subjects of the king of Babylon; they awoke from it 
slaves to the king of Persia. 

The soldiers of Cyrus first made known their presence in 
the city by falling upon the royal guards pi the very vestibule 
of the palace of the king. Belshazzar soon became aware of 
the cause of the disturbance, and died vainly fighting for his 
imperiled life. This feast of Belshazzar is described in the 
fifth chapter of Daniel; and the scene closes with the simple 
record, "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chal- 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 39. 51 

deans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being 
about threescore and two years old." 

Thus the first division of the great image was completed. 
Another kingdom had arisen, as the prophet had declared. 
The first instalment of the prophetic dream was fulfilled. 

But before we take leave of Babylon, let us glance forward 
to the end of its thenceforth melancholy history. It would 
naturally be supposed that the conqueror, becoming possessed 
of so noble a city, far surpassing anything in the "world, would 
have taken it as the seat of his empire, and maintained it in its 
primitive splendor. But God had said that that city should 
become a heap, and the habitation of the beasts of the desert; 
that their houses should be full of doleful creatures; that the 
wild beasts of the islands should cry in their desolate dwellings, 
and dragons in their pleasant palaces. Isa. 13 : 19-22. It 
must first be deserted. Cyrus removed the imperial seat to 
Susa, a celebrated city in the province of Elam, east from Baby- 
lon, on the banks of the River Choaspes, a branch of the Tigris. 
This was probably done, says Prideaux (i. 180), in the first year 
of his sole reign. The pride of the Babylonians being particu- 
larly provoked by this act, in the fifth year of Darius Hys~ 
;aspes, b. c. 517, they rose in rebellion, which brought upon 
themselves again the whole strength of the Persian empire. 
The city was once more taken by stratagem. Zopyrus, one of 
the chief commanders of Darius, having cut off his own nose 
and ears, and mangled his body all over with stripes, fled in 
this condition to the besieged, apparently burning with desire 
to be revenged on Darius for his great cruelty in thus mutila- 
ting him. In this way he won the confidence of the Babylo- 
nians till they at length made him chief commander of then- 
forces; whereupon he betrayed the city into the hands of his 
master. And that they might ever after be deterred from re- 
bellion, Darius impaled three thousand of those who had been 
most active in the revolt, took away the brazen gates of the 
city, and beat down the walls from two hundred cubits to fifty 
cubits. This was the commencement of its destruction. By 



52 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

tljis act, it was left exposed to the ravages of every hostile 
band. Xerxes, on his return from Greece, plundered the tem- 
ple of Belus of its immense wealth, and then laid the lofty 
structure in ruins. Alexander the Great endeavored to rebuild 
it; but after employing ten thousand men two months to clear 
away the rubbish, he died from excessive drunkenness and 
debauchery, and the work was suspended. In the year 294 
B. c, Seleucus Nicator built the city of New Babylon in its 
neighborhood, and took much of the material and many of the 
inhabitants, of the old city, to build up and people the new. 
Now almost exhausted of inhabitants, neglect and decay were 
telling fearfully upon the ancient city. The violence of Par- 
thian princes hastened its ruin. About the end of the fourth 
century, it was used by the Persian kings as an inclosure for 
wild beasts. At the end of the twelfth century, according to a 
celebrated traveler, the few remaining ruins of Nebuchadnez- 
zar's palace were so full of serpents and venomous reptiles that 
they could not, without great danger, be closely inspected. 
And to-day, scarcely enough even of the ruins is left to mark 
the spot where once stood the largest, richest, and proudest 
city the world has ever seen. Thus the ruin of great Babylon 
shows us how accurately God will fulfil his word, and makes 
the doubts of skepticism appear like wilful blindness. 

"And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to 
thee. ' ' The use of the word hingdom here, shows that king- 
doms, and not particular kings, are represented by the different 
parts of this image ; and hence when it was said to Nebu- 
chadnezzar, ' ' Thou art this head of gold, " although the personal 
pronoun was used, the kingdom, not the person of the king, 
was meant. 

The succeeding kingdom, Medo-Persia, is the one which 
answers to the breast and arms of silver of the great image. 
It was to be inferior to the preceding kingdom. In what 
respect inferior? Not in power; for it was its conqueror. Not 
in extent; for Cyrus subdued all the East from the ^gean 
Sea to the River Indus, and thus erected the most extensive 



CHAPTER 2, YERSE 39. 53 

empire that up to that time had ever existed^ But it was 
inferior in wealth, luxury, and magnificence. 

Yiewed from a Scriptural standpoint, the principal event 
under the Babylonish empire was the captivity of the children 
of Israel ; so the princi])al event under the Medo- Persian 
kingdom was the restoration of Israel to their own land. At 
the taking of Babylon, b. c. 538, Cyrus, as an act of courtesy, 
assigned the first place in the kingdom to his uncle, Darius. 
But, two years afterward, b. c. 536, Darius died; and in the 
same year also died Cambyses, king of Persia, Cyrus's father. 
By these events, Cyrus was left sole monarch of the whole 
empu'e. In this year, which closed Israel's seventy years of 
captivity, Cyrus issued his famous decree for the return of the 
Jews' and the rebuilding of their temple. This was the first 
instalment of the great decree for the restoration and build- 
ing again of Jerusalem (Ezra 6:1-1), which was completed in 
the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, b. c. 457, and 
marked, as will hereafter be shown, the commencement of the 
2300 days of Daniel 8, the longest and most important pro- 
phetic period mentioned in the Bible, Dan. 9 : 25. 

After a reign of seven years, Cyrus left the kingdom to his 
son, Cambyses, called Aliasuerus in Ezra 4:6, who reigned 
seven years and five months, to b. c. 522. Eight monarchs 
whose reigns varied from seven months to forty-six years each, 
took the throne in order till the year b. c. 336, as follows: 
Smerdis the Magian, called Artaxerxes in Ezra 4 : 7, seven 
months, in the year b. c. 522; Darius Hystaspes, f rom b. o. 521 
to 486; Xerxes, from b. c. 485 to 465; Artaxerxes Longima- 
nus, from b. c. 464 to 424; Darius IS^othus, from b. c. 423 to 
405; Artaxerxes Mnemon, from b. c. 404 to 359; Ochus, from 
E. c. 358 to 338; Arses, from b. o. 337 to 336.^ The year 335 
is set down as the first of Darius Codomannus, the last of the 
line of the old Persian kings. This man, according to Prideaux, 
was of noble stature, of goodly person, of the greatest personal 
valor, and of a mild and generous disposition. Had he lived 
at any other age, a long and splendid career would undoubtedly 
d 



54 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

have been his. But it was his ill-fortune to have to contend 
with one who was an agent in the fulfilment of prophecy; and 
no qualiiications, natural or acquired, could render him suc- 
cessful in the unequal contest. Scarce was he warm upon the 
throne, says the last-named historian, ere he found his formi- 
dable enemy, Alexander, at the head of the Greek soldiers, pre- 
paring to dismount him from it. 

The cause and particulars of the contest between the Greeks 
and Persians we leave to histories specially devoted to such 
matters. Suffice it hei'e to say that the deciding point was 
reached on the field of Arbela, b. c. 331, in which the Grecians, 
though only one to twenty in number as compared with the 
Persians, were entirely victorious; and Alexander thenceforth 
became absolute lord of the Persian empire to the utmost 
extent that it was ever possessed by any of its own kings. 

' ' And another third kingdom of brass shall bear rule over 
all the earth," said the prophet. So few and brief are the 
inspired words which involved in their fulfilment a change of 
the world's rulers. In the ever-changing political kaleidoscope, 
Grecia now comes into the field of vision, to be, for a time, the 
all-absorbing object of attention, as the third of what are 
called the great universal empires of the earth. 

After the fatal battle which decided the fate of the empire, 
Darius still endeavored to rally the shattered remnants of his 
army, and make a stand for his kingdom and his rights. But 
he could not gather, out of all the host of his recently so nu- 
merous and well-appointed army, a force with which he deemed 
it prudent to hazard another engagement with the victorious 
Grecians. Alexander pursued him on the wings of the wind. 
Time after time did Darius barely elude the grasp of his swiftly, 
following foe. At length two traitors, Bessus and Xabarzanes, 
seized the unfortunate prince, shut him up in a close cart, and 
fled with him as their prisoner toward Bactria. It was their 
purpose, if Alexander pursued them, to purchase their own 
safety by delivering up their king. Hereupon Alexander, 
learning of Darius' s dangerous position in the hands of the 
traitors, immediately put himself with the lightest part of his 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 39. 55 

army upon a forced pursuit. After several clays' hard march, 
he came up with the traitors. They urged Darius to mount oi 
horseback for a more speedy flight. Upon his refusing to d 
this, they gave him several mortal wounds, and left him dyin^ 
in his cart, while they mounted their steeds and rode away. 

When Alexander came up, he beheld only the lifeless form 
of the Persian king. As he gazed upon the corpse, he might 
have learned a profitable lesson of the instability of human 
fortune. Here was a man who, but a few months before, 
possessing many noble and generous qualities, was seated 
upon the throne of universal empire. Disaster, overthrow, 
and desertion had come suddenly upon him. His kmgdom 
had been conquered, his treasure seized, and his family reduced 
to captivity. And now, brutally slain by the hand of traitors, 
he lay a bloody corpse in a rude cart. The sight of the melan- 
choly spectacle drew tears even from the eyes of Alexander, 
familiar though he was with all the horrible vicissitudes and 
bloody scenes of war. Throwing his cloak over the body, he 
commanded it to be conveyed to the captive ladies of Susa, 
himself furnishing the necessary means for a royal funeral. 
For this generous act let us give him credit; for he stands sadly 
in need of all that is his due. 

When Darius fell, Alexander saw the field cleared of hk 
last formidable foe. Thenceforward he could spend his time 
in his own manner, now in the enjoyment of rest and pleasure 
and again in the prosecution of some minor conquest. He 
entered upon a pompous campaign into India, because, accord- 
ing to Grecian fable, Bacchus and Hercules, two sons of 
Jupiter, whose son he also claimed to be, had done the same. 
With contemptible arrogance, he claimed for himself divine 
honors. He gave up conquered cities, freely and unprovoked, 
to the absolute mercy of his blood-thirsty and licentious 
soldiery. He himself often murdered his own friends and 
favorites in his drunken frenzies. He sought out the vilest 
persons for the gratification of his lust. At the instigation of 
a dissolute and drunken woman, he with a company of his 
courtiers, all in a state of frenzied intoxication, sallied out, 



56 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

torch in hand, and fired the city and palace of Persepolis, one 
of the then finest palaces in the world. He encouraged such 
excessive drinking among his followers that on one occasion 
twenty of them together died as the result of their carousal. 
At length, having sat through one long drinking spree, he was 
immediately invited to another, when, after drinking to each 
of the twenty guests present, he twice drank full, says history, 
incredible as it may seem, the Herculean cup containing six of 
our quarts. He thereupon fell down, seized with a violent 
fever, of which he died eleven days later, in May or June, 
B. c. 323, while yet he stood only at the threshold of mature 
life, in the thirty- second year of his ageo 

The progress of the Grecian empire we need not stop to 
trace here, since its distinguishing features w411 claim more 
particular notice under other prophecies. Daniel thus con- 
tinues in his interpretation of the great image : — 

Verse 40. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron ; foras- 
much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things ; and as iron 
that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 

Thus far in the application of this prophecy there is a gen- 
eral agreement among expositors^ That Babylon, Medo-Persia, 
and Grecia are represented respectively by the head of gold, the 
breast and arms of silver, and the sides of brass, is acknowl- 
edged by all. But with just as little ground for a diversity of. 
views, there is strangely a difference of opinion as to what 
kingdom is symbolized by the fourth division of the great im- 
age, — the legs of iron. On this point we have only to inquire, 
What kingdom did succeed Grecia in the empire of the world ^ 
for the lee:s of iron denote the fourth kingdom in the series. 
The testimony of history is full and explicit on this point. 
One kingdom did this, and one only, and that was Kome. It 
conquered Grecia; it subdued all things; like iron, it broke in 
pieces and bruised. Gibbon, following the symbolic imagery 
of Daniel, thus describes this empire : — 

* ' The arms of the Republic, sometimes vanquished in bat- 
tle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 40-42. 57 

Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean; and the im- 
ages of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to represent 
the nations or their kings, were successively broken by the iron 
monarchy of Eome. " 

At the opening of the Christian era, this empire took in the 
whole south of Europe, France, England, the greater part of 
the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the south of Germany, 
Hungary, Turkey, and Greece, not to speak of its possessions 
in Asia and Africa. Well, therefore, may Gibbon say of it : — 

' ' The empire of the Eomans filled the world. And when 
that empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world 
became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies. To resist 
was fatal; and it was impossible to fly.'' 

It will be noticed that at first the kingdom is described 
unqualifiedly as strong as iron. And this was the period of its 
strength, during which it has been likened to a mighty Colos- 
sus, bestriding the nations, conquering everything, and giving 
laws to the world. But this was not to continue. 

Verse 41. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of pot- 
ters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided ; but there shall 
be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron 
m^xed with miry clay. 42. And as the toes of the feet were part of 
iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly 
broken. 

The element of weakness symbolized by the clay, pertained 
to the feet as well as to the toes. Rome, before its division 
into ten kingdoms, lost that iron tenacity which it possessed to 
a superlative degree during the first centuries of its career. 
Luxury, with its accompanying effeminacy and degeneracy, 
the destroyer of nations as well as of individuals, began to 
corrode and weaken its iron sinews, and thus prepared the way 
for its subsequent disruption into ten kingdoms. 

The iron legs of the image terminate, to maintain the con- 
sistency of the figure, in feet and toes. To the toes, of which 
there were of course just ten, our attention is called by the 
explicit mention of them in the prophecy; and the kingdom 
represented by that portion of the image to which the toes be 



58 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

longed, was finally divided into ten parts. The question there- 
fore naturally arises, Do the ten toes of the image represent the 
ten final divisions of the Roman empire ? To those who prefer 
what seems to be a natural and straightforward interpretation 
of the word of God, it is a matter of no little astonishment that 
any question should here be raised. To take the ten toes to 
represent the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided seems 
like such an easy, consistent, and matter-of-course procedure, 
that it requires a labored effort to interpret it otherwise. Yet 
such an effort" is made by some — by Romanists universally, 
and by such Protestants as still cling to Romish errors. 

A volume by H. Cowles, D.D., may perhaps best be taken 
as a representative exposition on this side of the question. 
The writer gives every evidence of extensive erudition and 
great ability. It is the more to be regretted, therefore, that 
these powers are devoted to the propagation of error, and to 
misleading the anxious inquirer who wishes to know his "where- 
abouts on the great highway of time. 

We can but briefly notice his positions. They are, (1) 
That the third kingdom was Grecia during the lifetime of 
Alexander only; (2) That the fourth kingdom was Alexander's 
successors; (3) That the latest point to which the fourth king- 
dom could extend, is the manifestation of the Messiah; for (4) 
There the God of heaven set up his kingdom; there the stone 
smote the image upon its feet, and commenced the process of 
grinding it up. 

Nor can we reply at any great length to these positions. 

1. We might as well confine the Babylonian empire to the 
single reign of Nebuchadnezzar, or tliat of Persia to the reign 
of Cyrus, as to confine the third kingdom, Grecia, to the reign 
of Alexander. 

2. Alexander's successors did not constitute another king- 
dom, but a continuation of the same, the Grecian division of 
the image; for in this line of prophecy the succession of king- 
doms is by conquest. When Persia had conquered Babylon, 
we had the second empire; and when Grecia had conquered 
Persia, we had the third. But Alexander's successors (his 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 40-42. 59 

four leading generals) did not conquer his empire, and erect 
another in its place ; they simply divided among themselves 
the empire which Alexander had conquered, and left ready to 
their hand. 

'' Chronologically," says Professor C, "the fourth emph-e 
must immediately succeed Alexander, and lie entirely between 
him and the birth of Christ." Chronologically, we reply, it 
must do no such thing ; for the birth of Christ was not the 
introduction of the fifth kingdom, as will in due time appear. 
Here he overlooks almost the entire duration of the third 
division of the image, confounding it with the fourth, and 
giving no room for the divided state of the Grecian empire as 
symbolized by the four heads of the leopard of chapter 7, and 
the four horns of the goat of chapter 8. 

"Territorially," continues Professor C, "it [the fourth 
kingdom] should be sought in Western Asia, not in Europe; 
in general, on the same territory where the first, second, and 
third kingdoms stood." Why not in Europe, we ask? Each 
of the first three kingdoms possessed territory which was 
peculiarly its own. Why not the fourth? Analogy requires 
that it should. And was not the third kingdom a European 
kingdom? that is, did it not rise on European territory, and 
take its name from the land of its birth ? Why not, then, go a 
degree farther west for the place where the fourth great king- 
dom should be founded? And how did Grecia ever occupy 
the territory of the first and second kingdoms ? — Only by 
conquest. And Kome did the same. Hence, so far as the 
territorial requirements of the professor's theory are con- 
cerned, Kome could be the fourth kingdom as truthfully as 
Grecia could be the third. 

"Politically, " he adds, "it should be the immediate suc- 
cessor of Alexander's empire, . . . changing the dynasty, but 
not the nations. ' ' Analogy is against him here. Each of the 
first three kingdoms was distinguished by its own peculiar 
nationality. The Persian was not the same as the Babylonian, 
nor the Grecian the same as either of the two that preceded it. 
Kow analogy requires that the fourth kingdom, instead of 



60 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

being composed of a fragment of this Grecian empire, should 
possess a nationality of its own, distinct from the other three. 
And this we find in the Roman kingdom, and in it alone. But, 

3. The grand fallacy which underlies this whole system of 
misinterpretation, is the too commonly taught theory that the 
kingdom cf God was set up at the first advent of Christ. It 
can easily be seen how fatal to this theory is the admission thai 
the fourth empire is Rome. For it was to be after the division 
of that fourth empire, that the God of heaven was to set up his 
kingdom. But the division of the Roman empire into ten parts 
was not accomplished previous to a. d. 476; consequently the 
kingdom of God could not have been set up at the first advent 
of Christ, nearly five hundred years before that date. Rome 
must not, therefore, from their standpoint, though it answers 
admirably to the prophecy in every particular, be allowed to 
be the kingdom in question. The position that the kingdom 
of God was set up in the days when Christ was upon earth, 
must, these interpreters seem to think, be maintained at all 
hazards. 

Such is the ground on which some expositors appear, at 
least, to reason. And it is for the purpose of maintaining this 
theory that our author dwindles down the third great empire 
of the world to the insignificant period of about eight years ! 
For this, he endeavors to prove that the fourth universal em- 
pire was bearing full sway during a period when the provi- 
dence of God was simply filling up the outlines of the third ! 
For this, he presumes to fix the points of time between which 
we must look for the fourth, though the prophecy does not 
deal in dates at all, and then whatever kingdom he finds 
within his specified time, that he sets down as the fourth king- 
dom, and endeavors to bend the prophecy to fit liis interpreta- 
tion, utterly regardless of how much better material he might 
find outside of his little inclosure, to answer to a fulfilment of 
the prophetic record. Is such a course logical ? Is the time 
the point to be first established^ — No; the kingdoms are the 
great features of the propliecy, and we are to look for them; 
and when we find them, we must accept them, whatever may 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 40-42. 61 

be their chronology or location. Let them govern the time 
and place, not the time and place govern them. 

But that view which is the cause of all this misapplication 
and confusion, is sheer assumption. Christ did not smite the 
image at his first advent. Look at it ! When the stone smites 
the image upon its feet, the image is dashed in pieces. Vio- 
lence is used. The effect is immediate. The image becomes as 
chaff. And then what? Is it absorbed by the stone, and 
gradually incorporated with it ? — Nothing of the kind. It is 
blown off', removed away, as incompatible and unavailable ma- 
terial; and no place is found for it. The territory is entirely 
cleared; and then the stone becomes a mountain, and fills the 
whole earth. Now what idea shall we attach to this work of 
smiting and breaking in pieces ? Is it a gentle, peaceful, and 
quiet work ? or is it a manifestation of vengeance and violence ? 
How did the kingdoms of the prophecy succeed the one to the 
other ? — It was through the violence and din of war, the shock 
of armies and the roar of battle. ' ' Confused noise and 
garments rolled in blood," told of the force and violence 
with which one nation had been brought into subjection to 
another. Yet all this is not called "smiting" or "breaking 
in pieces." 

When Persia conquered Babylon, and Greece Persia, nei- 
ther of the conquered empires is said to have been broken 
in pieces, though crushed beneath the overwhelming power of 
a hostile nation. But when we reach the introduction of the 
fifth kingdom, the image is smitten w4th violence; it is dashed 
to pieces, and so scattered and obliterated that no place is 
found for it. And now what shall we understand by this ? — 
We must understand that here a scene transpires in which is 
manifested so much more violence and force and power than 
accompany the overthrow of one nation by another through 
the strife of war, that the latter is not worthy even of mention 
in connection w^ith it. The subjugation of one nation by an- 
other by war, is a scene of peace and quietude in comparison 
with that which transpires when the image is dashed in pieces 
by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. 



62 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Yet what is the smiting of the image made to mean by the 
theory under notice ? — Oh, the peaceful introduction of the 
gospel of Christ ! the quiet spreading abroad of the light of 
truth ! the gathering out of a few from the nations of the 
earth, to be made ready through obedience to the truth, for 
his second coming, and reign ! the calm and unpretending 
formation of a Christian church, — a church that has been 
domineered over, persecuted, and oppressed by the arrogant 
and triumphant powers of earth from that day to this ! And 
this is the smiting of the image ! this is the breaking of it into 
pieces, and violently removing the shattered fragments from 
the face of the earth ! Was ever absurdity more absurd ? 

From this digression w^e return to the inquiry. Do the toes 
represent the ten divisions of the Roman empire ? We answer, 
Yes; because, ■ — 

1. The image of chapter 2 is exactly parallel with the vis- 
ion of the four beasts of chapter 7. The fourth beast of chap- 
ter 7 represents the same as the iron legs of the image. The 
ten horns of the beast, of course, correspond very naturally to 
the ten toes of the image; and these horns are plainly declared 
to be ten kings which should arise; and they are just as much 
independent kingdoms as are the beasts themselves ; for the 
beasts are spoken of in precisely the same manner; namely, as 
''four kings which should arise." Yerse 17. They do not 
denote a line of successive kings, but kings or kingdoms which 
exist contemporaneously; for three of them w^ere plucked up 
by the little horn. The ten horns, beyond controversy, repre- 
sent the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided. 

2. We have seen that in Daniel's interpretation of the 
image he uses the words Mug and hingdom interchangeably, 
the former denoting the same as the latter. In verse 44 he says 
that "in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set 
up a kingdom." This shows that at the time tlie kingdom of 
God is set up, there will be a plurality of kings existing con- 
temporaneously. It cannot refer to the four preceding king- 
doms; for it would be absurd to use such language in reference 
to a line of successive kings, since it would be in the days of 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 40-42. 63 

the last king only, not in the days of any of the preceding, 
that the kingdom of God would be set up. 

Here, then, is a diN^ision presented ; and what have we in 
the symbol to indicate it ? — Nothing but the toes of the image. 
Unless they do it, we are left utterly in the dark as to the 
nature and extent of the division which the prophecy shows 
did exist. To suppose this, would be to cast a serious imputa- 
tion upon the prophecy itself. We are therefore held to the 
conclusion that the ten toes of the image denote the ten parts 
into which the Roman empire was divided.^ 

As an objection to the view that the ten toes of the image 
denote the ten kingdoms, we are sometimes reminded that 
Rome, before its division into ten kingdoms, was divided into 
two parts, the Western and Eastern empires, corresponding to 
the two legs of the image; and as the ten kingdoms all arose 
out of the western division, if they are denoted by the toes, 
we would have, it is claimed, ten toes on one foot of the 
image, and none on the other; which would be unnatural and 
inconsistent. 

But this objection devours itself; for certainly if the two 
legs denote division, tlie toes must denote division also. It 



1 This division was accomplished between the years A. d. 351 and a. d. 483. The 
era of this dissolution thus covered almost a hundred and fifty years, from about 
the middle of the fourth century to near the close of the fifth. No historians of 
whom we are aware, place the beginning of this work of the dismemberment of the 
Roman empire earlier than A. d. 351, and none assign its close to a later date than 
A. D. 483. Concerning the intermediate dates, that is, the precise time from which 
each of the ten kingdoms that arose on the ruins of the Roman empire is to be 
dated, there is some difference of views among historians. Nor does this seem 
strange, when we consider that that was an era of great confusion, that the map 
of the Roman empire during that time underwent many sudden and violent 
changes, and that the paths of hostile nations charging upon its territory, 
crossed and recrossed each other in a labyrinth of confusion. But all historians 
agree in this, that out of the territory of Western Rome, ten separate kingdoms 
were ultimately established, and we may safely assign them to the time between 
the extreme dates above named; namely, A. D. 351 and 483. 

The ten nations which were most instrumental in breaking up the Roman 
empire, and which at some time in their history held respectively portions of 
Roman territory as separate and independent kingdoms, may be enumerated 
(without respect to the time of their establishment) as follows: The Huns, OstrO' 
goths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Heruli, Anglo-Saxons, and 
Lombards. The connection between these and some of the modern nations of 
Europe, is still traceable in the names, as England, Burgundy, Lombardy, France, 
etc. Such authorities as Oalmet, Faber, Lloyd, Hales, Scott, Barnes, etc., concur 
in the foregoing enumeration. (See Barnes's concluding notes on Daniel 7.) 



64 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

would be inconsistent to say that the legs symbolize division, 
but the toes do not. But if the toes do indicate division at 
all, it can be nothing but the division of Rome into ten parts. 
The fallacy, however, which forms the basis of this objec- 
tion, is the view that the two legs of the image do signify the 
separation of the Koman empire into its eastern and western 
divisions. To this view there are several objections. 

1. The two legs of iron symbolize Rome, not merely during 
its closing years, but from the very beginning of its existence 
as a nation ; and if these legs denote division, the kingdom 
should have been divided from the very commencement of its 
history. This claim is sustained by the other symbols. Thus 
the division (that is, the two elements) of the Persian kingdom, 
denoted by the two horns of the ram (Dan. 8 : 20), also by the 
elevation of the bear upon one side (Dan. T : 5,) and perhaps 
by the two arms of the image of this chapter, existed from the 
first. The division of the Grecian kingdom, denoted by the 
four horns of the goat and the four heads of the leopard, dates 
back to within eight years of the time when it was introduced 
into prophecy. So Rome should have been divided from the 
first, if the legs denote division, instead of remaining a unit for 
nearly six hundred years, and separating into its eastern and 
western divisions only a few years prior to its final disruption 
into ten kingdoms. 

2. No such division into two great parts is denoted by the 
other symbols under which Rome is represented in the book of 
Daniel; namely, the great and terrible beast of Daniel 7, and 
the little horn of chapter 8. Hence it is reasonable to conclude 
that the two legs of the image were not designed to represent 
such a division. 

But it may be asked. Why not suppose the two legs to de- 
note division as well as the toes ? Would it not be just as in- 
consistent to say that the toes denote division, and the logs do 
not, as to say that the legs denote division, and the toes do not i 
We answer that the prophecy itself must govern our conclu- 
sions in this matter; and whereas it siys nothing of division 
in connection with the legs, it does introduce the subject of 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 43. 65 

division as we come down to the feet and toes. It says, ' 'And 
whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and 
part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided." No division 
could take place, or at least none is said to have taken place, 
till the weakening element of the clay was introduced; and we 
do not find this till we come to the feet and toes. But we are 
not to understand that the clay denotes one division and the 
iron the other; for after the long-existing unity of the kingdom 
was broken, no one of the fragments was as strong as the origi- 
nal iron, but all were in a state of weakness denoted by the 
mixture of iron and clay. The conclusion is inevitable, there- 
fore, that the prophet has here stated the cause for the effect. 
The introduction of the weakness of the clay element, as we 
come to the feet, resulted in the division of the kingdom into 
ten parts, as represented by the ten toes ; and this result, 
or division, is more than intimated in the sudden mention 
of a plurality of contemporaneous kings. Therefore, while 
we find no evidence that the legs denote division, but serious 
objections against such a view, we do find, we think, good 
reason for supposing that the toes denote division, as here 
claimed. 

3. Each of the four monarchies had its own particular ter- 
ritory, which was the kingdom proper, and where we are to 
look for the chief events in its history shadowed forth by the 
symbol. We are not, therefore, to look for the divisions of the 
Roman empire in the territory formerly occupied by Babylon, 
or Persia, or Grecia, but in the territory proper of the Roman 
kingdom, which was what was finally known as the Western 
empire. Rome conquered the world; but the kingdom of 
Rome proper lay west of Grecia. That is what was repre- 
sented by the legs of iron. There, then, we look for the ten 
kingdoms; and there we find them. We are not obliged to 
mutilate or deform the symbol to make it a fit and accurate 
representation of historical events. 

Vekse 43. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they 
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men ; but they shall not cleave 
one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 



M PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

With Kome fell the last of the universal empires belonging 
to this world in its present state. Heretofore the elements of 
society had been such that it was possible for one nation, rising 
superior to its neighbors in prowess, bravery, and the science of 
war, to attach them one after another to its chariot wheels till 
all were consolidated into one vast empire, and one man seated 
upon the dominant throne could send forth his w411 as law to 
all the nations of the earth. When Rome fell, such possibili- 
ties forever passed away. Crushed beneath the w^eight of its 
own vast proportions, it crumbled to pieces, never to be united 
again. The iron was mixed with the clay. Its elements lost 
the power of cohesion, and no man or combination of men can 
again consolidate them. This point is so well set forth by an- 
other that we take pleasure in quoting his words : — 

"From this, its divided state, the first strength of the em- 
pire departed; but not as that of the others had done. No 
other kingdom was to succeed it, as it had the three which 
went before it. It was to continue in this tenfold division, un- 
til the kingdom of stone smote it upon its feet, broke them in 
pieces, and scattered them as the wind does the chaff of the 
summer threshing-floor ! Yet, through all this time, a portion 
of its strength was to remain. And so the prophet says, ' And 
as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, 
so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. ' 
Verse 42. How in any other way could you so strikingly 
represent the facts ? For more than fourteen hundred years, 
this tenfold division has existed. Time and again men have 
dreamed of rearing on these dominions one mighty kingdom. 
Charlemagne tried it. Charles Y tried it. Louis XYI tried 
it. Napoleon tried it. But none succeeded. A single verse 
of prophecy was stronger than all their hosts. Their own 
power was wasted, frittered away, destroyed. But the ten 
kingdoms did not become one. 'Partly strong, and partly 
broken,' was the prophetic description. And such, too, has 
been the historic fact concerning them. With the book of his- 
tory open before you, I ask you, Is not this an exact represen- 
tation of the remnants of this once mighty empire ? It ruled 



CHAPTER 2, VERSE 43. 6T 

with unlimited powei\ It was the throned mistress of the 
world. Its scepter was broken; its throne pulled down; its 
power taken away. Ten kingdoms were formed out of it; and 
'broken' as then it was, it still continues; i. e.^ 'partly 
broken; ' for its dimensions still continue as when the kingdom 
of iron stood upright upon its feet. And then it is ' partly 
strong;' i. e.^ it retains, even in its broken state, enough of 
its iron strength to resist all attempts to mold its parts to- 
gether. ' This shall not be, ' says the word of God. ' This 
has not been, ' replies the book of history. 

^ ' ' But then, ' men may say, ' another plan remains. If 
force cannot avail, diplomacy and reasons of state may; we 
will try them. ' And so the prophecy foreshadows this when it 
says, ' They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men ; ' 
i. e.^ marriages shall be formed, in hope thus to consolidate 
their power, and, in the end, to unite these divided kingdoms 
into one. 

' ' And shall this device succeed ? — No. The prophet an- 
swers : ' They shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is 
not mixed with clay.' And the history of Europe is but a 
running commentary on the exact fulfilment of these words. 
From the time of Canute to the present age, it has been the 
policy of reigning monarchs, the beaten path which they have 
trodden in order to reach a mightier scepter and a wider sway. 
And the most signal instance of it which history has recorded 
in our own day, is in the case of Napoleon. He ruled in one 
of the kingdoms. . . . He sought to gain by alliance what he 
could not gain by force; i. e., to build up one mighty, con- 
solidated empire. And did he succeed ? — Nay. The very 
power with which he was allied, proved his destruction, in the 
troops of Blucher, on the field of Waterloo ! The iron would 
not mingle with clay. The ten kingdoms continue still. 

" And yet, if as the result of these alliances or of other 
causes, that number is sometimes disturbed, it need not sur- 
prise us. It is, indeed, just what the prophecy seems to call 
for. The iron was ' mixed with the clay. ' For a season, in 
the image, you might not distinguish between them. But they 



68 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

would not remain so ' They shall not cleave one to another. ' 
The nature of the substances forbids them to do so in the one 
case; the word of prophecy in the other. Yet there was to be 
an attempt to mingle — nay, more, there was an approach fo 
mingling in both cases. But it was to be abortive. And how 
marked the emphasis with which history affirms this declara- 
tion of the word of God ! " — Wm. JVewtmi, Lectures on the 
First Two Visions of the Booh of Daniel^ jpp. 34.-36. 

Yet with all these facts before them, asserting the irresist- 
ible power of God's providence through the overturnings and 
changes of centuries, the efforts of warriors, and the diplomacy 
and intrigues of courts and kings, some modern expositors 
have manifested such a marvelous misapprehension of this 
prophecy as to predict a future universal kingdom, and point 
to a European ruler, even now of waning years and declining 
prestige, as the "destined monarch of the world." Yain is 
the breath they spend in promulgating such a theory, and delu- 
sive the hopes or fears they may succeed in raising over such 
an expectation.^ 

Verse 44, And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven 
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed ; and the kingdom 
shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume 
all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45. Forasmuch as thou 
sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and 
that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the 
gold ; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to 
pass hereafter ; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof 
sure. 

We here reach the climax of this stupendous prophecy ; 
and when Time in his onward flight shall bring us to the sub- 
lime scene here predicted, we shall have reached the end of 
human history. The kingdom of God ! Grand provision for 
a new and glorious dispensation, in whicli his people shall 
find a happy terminus of this world's sad, degenerate, and 
changing career. Transporting change for all the righteous, 



1 Shortly after this language was penned. Napoleon III, this " destined mon- 
arch of the world " 1 was dethroned, and died in ignominious retirement, and his 
son and heir has since fallen by the hands of savages in Africa 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 44, 45. 69 

from gloom to glory, from strife to peace, from a sinful to a 
holj world, from death to life, from tyranny and oppression to 
the happy freedom and blessed privileges of a heavenly king- 
dom ! Glorious transition, from weakness to strength, from 
the changing and decaying to the immutable and eternal ! 

But when is this kingdom to be established ? May we hope 
for an answer to an inquiry of such momentous concern to our 
race ? These are the very questions on which the word of God 
does not leave us in ignorance; and herein is seen the surpass- 
ing value of this heavenly boon. We do not say that the exact 
time is revealed (we emphasize the fact that it is not) either in 
this or any other prophecy; but so near an approximation is 
given that the generation which is to see the establishment of 
this kingdom may mark its approach unerringly, and make that 
preparation which will entitle them to share in all its glories. 

As already explained, we are brought down by verses 41-43 
this side of the division of the Eoman empire into ten king- 
doms; which division was accomplished, as already noticed, be- 
tween 351 and 483. The kings, or kingdoms, in the days of 
which the God of heaven is to set up his kingdom, are evi- 
dently those kingdoms which arose out of the Roman empire. 
Then the kingdom of God here brought to view could not have 
been set up, as some claim it was, in connection with the first 
advent of Christ, four hundred and fifty years before. But 
whether we apply this division to the ten kingdoms or not, it 
is certain that some kind of division was to take place in the 
Roman empire before the kingdom of God should be set up; 
for the prophecy expressly declares, ' ' The kingdom shall be 
divided." And this is equally fatal to the popular view ; for 
after the unification of the first elements of the Roman power 
down to the days of Christ, there was no division of the king- 
dom; nor during his days, nor for many years after, did any 
such thing take place. The civil wars were not divisions of 
the empire; they were only the efforts of individuals worship- 
ing at the shrine of ambition, to obtain supreme control of the 
empire. The occasional petty revolts of distant provinces, sup- 
pressed as with the DOwer, and almost with the speed, of a 



70 PROPHECY OF DAJSIEL. 

thunderbolt, did not constitute a division of the kingdom. 
And these are all that can be pointed to as interfering with 
the unity of the kingdom, for more than three hundred years 
this side the days of Christ. This one consideration is suffi- 
cient to disprove forever the view that the kingdom of God, 
which constitutes the fifth kingdom of this series, as brought 
to view in Daniel 2, was set up at the commencement of the 
Christian era. But a thought more may be in place. 

1. This fifth kingdom, then, could not have been set up at 
Christ's first advent, because it is not to exist contemporane- 
ously with earthly governments, but to succeed them. As the 
second kingdom succeeded the first, the third the second, and 
the fourth the third, by violence and overthrow, so the fifth 
succeeds the fourth. It does not exist at the same time with 
it. The fourth kingdom is first destroyed, the fragments 
are removed, the territory is cleared, and then the fifth is 
established as a succeeding kingdom in the order of time. 
But the church has existed contemporaneously with earthly 
governments ever since earthly governments were formed. 
There was a church in Abel's day, in Enoch's, in Noah's, in 
Abraham's, and so on to the present. No; the church is not 
the stone that smote the image upon the feet. It existed too 
early in point of time, and the work in which it is engaged is 
not that of smiting and overthrowing earthly governments. 

2. The fifth kingdom is introduced by the stone smiting 
the image. What part of the image does the stone smite ? 
— The feet and toes. But these were not developed until 
four centuries and a half after the crucifixion of Christ. The 
image was, at the time of the crucifixion, only developed to 
the thighs, so to speak; and if the kingdom of God was there 
set up, if there the stone smote the image, it smote it upon 
the thighs, not upon the feet, where the prophecy places the 
smiling. 

3. The stone that smites the image is cut out of the 
mountain without hands. The margin reads, ' ' Which was 
not in hand." This shows that the smiting is not done by an 
agent acting for another, not by the church, for instance, in 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 44, 45. 71 

the hands of Christ; but it is a work which the Lord does by 
his own divine power, without any human agency. 

4. Again, the kingdom of God is placed before the church 
as a matter of hope. The Lord did not teach his disciples a 
prayer which in two or three years was to become obsolete. 
The petition may as appropriately ascend from the lips of the 
patient, waiting flock in these last days, as from the lips of his 
first disciples, " Thy kingdom come." 

5. We have plain Scripture declarations to establish the 
following propositions : (1) The kingdom was still future at the 
time of our Lord's last Passover. Matt. 26 : 29. (2) Christ 
did not set it up before his ascension. Acts 1:6. (3) Flesh 
and blood cannot inherit it. 1 Cor. 15 : 60. (4) It is a matter 
of promise to the apostles, and to all those that love God. 
James 2:5. (5) It is promised in the future to the little 
flock. Luke 12 : 32. (6) Through much tribulation the saints 
are to enter therein. Acts 14 : 22. (7) It is to be set up when 
Christ shall judge the living and the dead. 2 Tim. 4:1. (8) 
This is to be when he shall come in his glory with all his holy 
angels. Matt. 25 : 31-34. 

As militating against the foregoing view, it may be asked 
if the expression, "Kingdom of heaven," is not, in the New 
Testament, applied to the church. In some instances it may 
be ; but in others as evidently it cannot be. In the decisive 
texts referred to above, which show that it was still a matter of 
promise even after the church was fully established, that mor- 
tality cannot inherit it, and that it is to be set up only in con- 
nection with the coming of our Lord to judgment, the reference 
cannot be to any state or organization here upon earth. The 
object we have before us is to ascertain what constitutes the 
kingdom of Dan. 2 : 44; and we have seen that the prophecy 
utterly forbids our applying it there to the church, inasmuch 
as by the terms of the prophecy itself we are prohibited from 
looking for that kingdom till over four hundred years after the 
crucifixion of 'Christ and the establishment of the gospel church. 
Therefore if in some expressions in the ISTew Testament the 
word ''kingdom" can be found applying to the work of God's 



72 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

grace, or the spread of the gospel, it cannot in such instances 
be the kingdom brought to view in Daniel. That can only be 
the future literal kingdom of Christ's glory so often brought to 
view in both the Old Testament and the New. 

It may b6 objected again, that when the stone smites the 
image, the iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold are broken 
to pieces together; hence the stone must have smitten the image 
when all these parts were in existence. In reply we ask. What 
is meant by their being broken to pieces together ? Does the 
expression mean that the same persons who constituted the 
kingdom of gold would be alive when the image was dashed 
to pieces? — No; else the image covers but the duration of a 
single generation. Does it mean that that would be a ruling 
kingdom? — No; for there is a succession of kingdoms down 
to the fourth. On the supposition, then, that the fifth king- 
dom was set up at the first advent, in what sense w^ere the 
brass, silver, and gold in existence then any more than at the 
present day ? Does it refer to the time of the second resurrec- 
tion, when all these wicked nations will be raised to life ? — 
No; for the destruction of earthly governments in this present 
state, which is here symbolized by the smiting of the image, 
certainly takes place at the end of this dispensation; and in 
the second resurrection national distinctions will be no more 
known. 

No objection really exists in the point under consideration; 
for all the kingdoms symbolized by the image, are, in a certain 
sense, still in existence. Chaldea and Assyria are still the first 
divisions of the image; Media and Persia, the second; Macedo- 
nia, Greece, Thrace, Asia Minor, and Egypt, the third. Polit- 
ical life and dominion, it is true, have passed from one to the 
other, till, so far as the image is concerned, it is all now con- 
centrated in the divisions of the fourth kingdom ; but the 
others, in location and substance, though without dominion, 
are still there; and together all will be dashed to pieces when 
the fifth kingdom is introduced. 

It may still further be asked, by way of objection, Have 
not the ten kingdoms, in the days of which the kingdom of 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 44, 45 73 

God was to be set up, all passed away ? and as the kingdom of 
God is not yet set up, lias not the prophecy, according to the 
view here advocated, proved a failure? We answer. Those 
kingdoms have not yet passed away. We are yet in the days 
of those kings. The following illustration from Dr. i^elson's 
''Cause and Cure of Infidelity," pp. 374, 375, will set this 
matter in a clear light : — 

' ' Suppose some feeble people should be suffering from the 
almost , constant invasions of numerous and ferocious enemies. 
Suppose some powerful and benevolent prince sends them word 
that he will, for a number of years, say thirty, maintain, for 
their safety along the frontier, ten garrisons, each to contain 
one hundred well-armed men. Suppose the forts are built and 
remain a few years, when two of them are burned to the 
ground and rebuilt without delay; has there been any violation 
of the sovereign's word? — i^o; there was no material inter- 
ruption in the continuance of the walls of strength; and, further- 
more, the most important part of the safeguard was still there. 
Again, suppose the monarch sends and has tv/o posts of 
strength demolished, but, adjoining the spot where these stood, 
and immediately, he has other two buildings erected, more 
capacious and more desirable ; does the promise still stand 
good ? We answer in the affirmative, and we believe no one 
would differ with us. Finally, suppose, in addition to the ten 
garrisons, it could be shown that for several months during tlie 
thirty years, one more had been maintained there; that for 
one or two years out of the thirty, there had been there eleven 
instead of ten fortifications; shall we call it a defeat or a failure 
of the original undertaking? Or shall any seeming interrup- 
tions, such as have been stated, destroy the propriety of our 
calling these the ten garrisons of the frontier ? The answer is, 
No, without dispute. 

"So it is, and has been, respecting the ten kingdoms of 
Europe once under the Roman scepter. They have been there 
for twelve hundred and sixty years. If several have had their 
names changed, according to the caprice of him who conquered, 
this change of name did not destroy existence. If others 



74 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

have had their territorial limits changed, the nation was still 
there. If others have fallen while successors were forming in 
their room, the ten horns were still there. If, during a few 
years out of a thousand, there were more than ten, if some 
temporary power reared its head, seeming to claim a place with 
the rest, and soon disappeared, it has not caused the beast to 
have less than ten horns." 

Scott remarks : — 

"It is certain that the Roman empire was divided into ten 
kingdoms; and though they might be sometimes more and 
sometimes fewer, yet they were still known by the name of the 
ten kingdoms of the Western empire. ' ' 

Thus the subject is cleared of all difficulty. Time has fully 
developed this great image in all its parts. Most strictly does 
it represent the important political events it was designed to 
symbolize. It stands complete upon its feet. Thus it has been 
standing for over fourteen hundred years. It waits to be 
smitten upon the feet by the stone cut out of the mountain 
without hand, that is, the kingdom of Christ. This is to be 
accomplished when the Lord shall be revealed in flaming fire, 
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey 
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See Ps. 2 : S, 0.) In 
the days of these kings the God of heaven is to set up a king- 
dom. We have been in the days of these kings for over four- 
teen centuries, and we are still in their days. So far as this 
prophecy is concerned, the very next event is the setting up of 
God's everlasting kingdom. Other prophecies and innumerable 
signs show unmistakably its immediate proximity. 

The coming kingdom ! This ought to be the all-absorbing 
topic with the present generation. Reader, are you ready for 
the issue ? He who enters this kingdom enters it not merely 
for such a lifetime as men live in this present state, not to see 
it degenerate, not to see it overthrown by a succeeding and more 
powerful kingdom; but he enters it to participate in all its 
privileges and blessings, and to share its glories forever; for 
this kingdom is not to "be left to otlior people." Again we 
ask you. Are you ready ? The terms of heirship are most lib- 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 46-49. ' 75 

eral : ^< If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs 
according to the promise." Are you on terms of friendship 
with Christ, the coming King ? Do you love his character I 
Are you trying to walk humbly in his footsteps, and obey his 
teachings ? If not, read your fate in the cases of those in the 
parable, of whom it was said, " But those mine enemies, which 
would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and 
slay them before me." There is to be no rival kingdom 
where you can find an asylum if you remain an enemy to 
this; for this is to occupy all the territory ever possessed by 
any and all of the kingdoms of this world, past or present. It 
is to fill the whole earth. Happy they to whom the rightful 
Sovereign, the all-conquering King, at last can say, ' ' Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world." 

Verse 46. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and 
worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and 
sweet odors unto him. 47. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, 
Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and 
a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48. Then 
the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and 
made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the 
governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49. Then Daniel requested 
of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the 
affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the 
king. 

We have dwelt quite at length on the interpretation of the 
dream, which Daniel made known to the Chaldean monarch. 
From this we must now return to the palace of Nebuchadnez- 
zar, and to Daniel, as he stands in the presence of the king, 
having made known to him the dream and the interpretation 
thereof, while the courtiers and the baifled soothsayers and 
astrologers wait around in silent awe and wonder. 

It might be expected that an ambitious monarch, raised to 
the highest earthly throne, and in the full flush of uninterrupted 
success, would scarcely brook to be told that his kingdom, 
which he no doubt fondly hoped would endure through all 
time, was to be overthi'own by another people. Yet Daniel 



76 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

plainly and boldly made known this fact to the king; and the 
king, so far from being offended, fell upon his face before the 
prophet of God, and offered him worship. Daniel doubtless 
immediately countermanded the orders which the king issued 
to pay him divine honors. That Daniel had some communica- 
tion with the king which is not here recorded, is evident from 
verse 47 : "The king answered unto Daniel, " etc. And it may 
be still further inferred that Daniel labored to turn the king's 
feelings of reverence from himself to the God of heaven, inas- 
much as the king replies, " Of a truth it is that your God is a 
God of gods and a Lord of kings." 

Then the king miide Daniel a great man. There are two 
things which in this life are specially supposed to make a man 
great, and both these Daniel received from the king : (1) 
Riches. A man is considered great if he is a man of wealth; 
and we read that the king gave him many and great gifts. (2) 
Power. If in conjunction with riches a man has powxr, 
certainly in popular estimation he is considered a great man; 
and power was bestowed upon Daniel in abundant measure. 
He was made ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and 
chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 

Thus speedily and abundantly did Daniel begin to be re- 
warded for his fidelity to his own conscience and the require- 
ments of God. So great was Balaam's desire for the presents 
of a certam heathen king, that he endeavored to obtain them 
in spite of the Lord's expressed will to the contrary, and thus 
signally failed. Daniel did not act with a view to obtaining 
these presents ; yet by maintaining his integrity with the 
Lord they were given abundantly into his hands. His ad- 
vancement, both with respect to wealth and power, was a 
matter of no small moment with him as it enabled him to be 
of service to his fellow-countrymen less favored than himself 
in their long captivity. 

Daniel did not become bewildered nor intoxicated by his 
signal victory and his wonderful advancement. He first re- 
members the three who were companions with him in anxiety 
respecting the king's matter ; and as they had helped him 



CHAPTER 2, VERSES 46-49. 77 

with their prayers, he determined that they should share with 
him in his honors. At his request they were placed over the 
affairs of Babylon, while Daniel himself sat in the gate of the 
king. The gate was the place where councils were held, and 
matters of chief moment were deliberated upon. The record 
is a simple declaration that Daniel became chief counselor to 
the king. 




3. CHAPTER mm . 




Verse 1. Kebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose 
hight was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits ; he set 
it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Bab3ion. 

^j^^HEIlE is a conjecture extant that this image had some 
^W^ reference to the dream of the king as described in the 
i previous chapter, it having been erected only twenty- 
three years subsequently, according to the marginal chronol- 
ogy. In that dream the head was of gold, representing Nebu- 
chadnezzar's kingdom. That was succeeded by metals of 
inferior quality, denoting a succession of kingdoms. Nebu- 
chadnezzar was doubtless quite gratified that his kingdom 
should be represented by the gold ; but that it should ever 
be succeeded by another kingdom was not so pleasing. Hence, 
instead of having simply the head of his image of gold, he 
made it all of gold, to denote that the gold of the head should 
extend through the entire image; or, in other words, that his 
kingdom should not give way to another kingdom, but be 
perpetual. 

It is probable that the hight here mentioned, ninety feet 
at the lowest estimate, was not the hight of the image proper, 
but included the pedestal also. Nor is it probable that any 
more than the image proper, if even that, was of solid gold. 
It could have been overlaid with thin plates, nicely joined, at 
[781 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 1-12. 79 

a much less expense, without detracting at all from its ex- 
ternal appearance. 

Verse 2. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together 
the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, 
the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come 
to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set 
up. 3. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the 
treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, 
were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchad- 
nezzar the king had set up ; and they stood before the image that Neb- 
uchadnezzar had set up. 4. Then an herald cried aloud. To you it is 
commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5. That at what time ye 
hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psalter}^ dulcimer, 
and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that 
Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up ; 6. And whoso falleth not down 
and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning 
fiery furnace. 7. Therefore, at that time, when all the people heard the 
sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, 
all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped 
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 

The dedication of this image was made a great occasion. 
The chief men of all the kingdom were gathered together; so 
much pains and expense will men undergo in sustaining idola- 
trous and heathen systems of worship. So it is and ever has 
been. Alas, that those who have the true religion should be 
so far outdone in these respects by the upholders of the false 
and counterfeit ! The worship was accompanied with music; 
and whoso should fail to participate therein was threatened 
with a fiery furnace. Such are ever the strongest motives to 
impel men in any direction, — pleasure on the one hand, pain 
on the other. 

Yerse 6 contains the first mention to be found in the Bible 
of the division of time into hours. It was probably the inven- 
tion of the Chaldeans. 

Verse 8. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and 
accused the Jews. 9. The}^ spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, 
O king, live forever. 10. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every 
man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, 
and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the 
golden image; 11. And whoso. falleth not down and worshipeth, that he 
should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12. There are 



80 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of 
Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; these men, O king, have 
not regarded thee ; they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image 
which thou hast set up. 

These Chaldeans who accused the Jews were probably the 
sect of philosophers who went by that name, and who were 
still smarting under the chagrin of their ignominious failure in 
respect to their interpretation of the king's dream of chapter 2. 
They were eager to seize upon any pretext to accuse the Jews 
before the king, and either disgrace or destroy them. They 
worked upon the king's prejudice by strong intimations of 
theu' ingratitude : Thou hast set them over the affairs of Baby- 
lon, and yet they have disregarded thee. Where Daniel was 
upon this occasion, is not known. He was probably absent on 
some business of the empire, the importance of which demanded 
his presence. But why should Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
nego, since they knew they could not worship the image, be 
present on the occasion ? Was it not because they were willing 
to comply with the king's requirements as far as they could 
without compromising their religious principles ? The king 
required them to be present. With this requirement they 
could comply, and they did. He required them to worship 
the image. This their religion forbade, and this they therefore 
refused to do. 



Verse 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded 
to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these 
men before the king. 14. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, 
Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my 
gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up ? 15. Now if 
ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, 
harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall 
down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye wor- 
ship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery 
furnace ; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands ? 

16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, 
O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 

17. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the 
burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 

18. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy 
gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 




THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FIERY FURNACE. 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 13-25. 81 

The forbearance of the king is shown in his granting Sha- 
drach, Meshach, and Abed-nego another trial after their first 
failure to comply with his requirements. Doubtless the mat- 
ter was thoroughly understood. They could not plead igno- 
rance. They knew just what the king wanted, and their failure 
to do it was an intentional and deliberate refusal to obey him. 
With most kings this would have been enough to seal their fate. 
But no, says Nebuchadnezzar, I will overlook this offense, if 
upon a second trial they comply with the law. But they in- 
formed the king that he need not trouble himself to repeat the 
farce. *'We are not careful," said they, '' to answer thee in 
this matter." That is, you need not grant us the favor of 
another trial; our mind is made up. We can answer just as 
well now as at any future time; and our answer is. We will 
not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou 
hast set up. Our God can deliver if he will; but if not, it is 
just the same. We know his will, and to that we shall render 
unconditional obedience. Their answer was both honest and 
decisive. 

Terse 19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of 
his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; 
therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace 
one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20. And he com- 
manded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 
21. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, 
and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning 
fiery furnace^ 22. Tlierefore because the king's commandment was 
urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those 
men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23. And these 
three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the 
midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king 
was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, 
Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire ? They 
answered and said unto the king. True, O king. 25. He answered and 
said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they 
have no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 

Nebuchadnezzar was not entirely free from the faults and fol- 
]ies into which an absolute monarch so easily runs. Intoxicated 
with unlimited power, he could not brook disobedience or con- 
f 



82 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

tradiction. Let liis expressed authority be resisted, on how- 
ever good grounds, and he exhibits the weakness common to 
our fallen humanity under like circumstances, and flies into a 
passion. Ruler of the world, he was not equal to that still 
harder task of ruling his own spirit. And even the form of his 
visage was changed. Instead of the calm, dignified, self-pos- 
sessed ruler that he should have appeared, he betrayed him- 
self in look and act as the slave of ungovernable passion. 
♦ The furnace was heated one seven times hotter than usual, 
in other words, to its utmost capacity. The king overreached 
himself in this ; for even if the fire had been suffered to have 
its ordinary effect upon the* ones he cast into the furnace, it 
would only have destroyed them the sooner. Nothing would 
have been gained by that means on the part of the king. But 
seeing they were delivered from it, much was gained on the 
part of the cause of God and his truth; for the more intense 
the heat, the greater and more impressive the miracle of being 
delivered from it. Every circumstance was calculated to show 
the direct power of God. They were bound in all their gar- 
ments, but came out with not even the smell of fire upon them. 
The most mighty men in the army w^ere chosen to cast them in. 
These the fire slew ere they came in contact with it; while 
on the Hebrews it had no effect, though they were in the very 
midst of its flames. It was evident that the fire was under the 
control of some supernatural intelligence ; for while it had 
effect upon the cords with which they were bound, destroying 
them, so that they were free to walk about in the midst of the 
fire, it did not even singe their garments. They did not, as 
soon as free, spring out of the fire, but continued therein ; for, 
first, the king had put them in, and it was his place to call them 
out; and secondly, the form of the fourth was w^ith them, and 
in his presence they could be content and joyful, as well in the 
furnace of fire as in the delights and luxuries of the palace. 
Let us in all our trials, afflictions, persecutions, and straitened 
places, but have the «' form of the fourth" with us, and it is 
enough. 



CHAPTER 3, VERSES 26-30. 83 

The king said, «' And the form of the fourth is like the Son 
of God." This language is by some supposed to refer to Christ; 
but it is not likely that the king had any idea of the Saviour. 
A better rendering, according to good authorities, would be 
'*like a son of the gods; " that is, he had the appearance of a 
supernatural, or divine being. Nebuchadnezzar subsequently 
called him an angel. 

What a scathing rebuke upon the king for his folly and 
madness was the deliverance of these worthies from the fiery 
furnace ! A higher power than any on earth had vindicated 
those who stood firm against idolatry, and poured contempt on 
the worship and requirements of the king. None of the gods 
of the heathen ever had wrought such deliverance as that, nor 
were they able to do so. 

Verse 26. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the 
burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. 
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the 
fire. 27. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's coun- 
selors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the 
fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their 
coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28. Then 
Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said. Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Me- 
shach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his serv- 
ants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded 
their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any God, except 
their own God. 29. Therefore I make a decree. That every people, na- 
tion, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Sha- 
drach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses 
shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other God that can deliver 
after this sort. 80. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego in the province of Babylon. 

When bidden, these three men came forth from the fur- 
nace. Then the princes, governors, and king's counselors, 
through whose advice, or at least concurrence, they had been 
cast into the furnace (for the king said to them, verse 24, '' Did 
not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire ? "), were 
gathered together to look upon these men, and have optical and 
tangible proof of their wonderful preservation. The worship 



84 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

of the great image was lost sight of. The whole interest of 
this vast concourse of people was now concentrated upon these 
three remarkable men. All men's thoughts and minds were 
full of this wonderful occurrence. And how the knowledge 
of it would be spread abroad throughout the empire, as they 
should return to their respective provinces ! What a notable 
instance in which God caused the wrath of man to praise him ! 

Then the king blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego, and made a decree that none should speak against 
him. This the Chaldeans had undoubtedly done. In those 
days, each nation had its god or gods; for there were ''gods 
many and lords many." And the victory of one nation over 
another was supposed to occur because the gods of the con- 
quered nation were not able to deliver them from the con- 
querors. The Jews had been wholly subjugated by the 
Babylonians, on which account the latter had no doubt spoken 
disparagingly or contemptuously of the God of the Jews. This 
the king now prohibits; for he is plainly given to understand 
that his success against the Jews was owing to their sins, not to 
any lack of power on the part of their God. In what a con- 
spicuous and exalted light this placed the God of the Hebrews 
in comparison with the gods of the nations ! It was an acknowl- 
edgment that he held men amenable to some high standard 
of moral character, and that he did not regard with indifference 
their actions in reference to it ; since he would visit with pun- 
ishment those who transgressed it, and would consequently 
bestow his blessing on those who complied with it. Had these 
Jews been time-servers, the name of the true God had not thus 
been exalted in Babylon. What honor does the Lord put upon 
them that are steadfast toward him I 

The king promoted them; that is, he restored to them the 
offices which they held before the charges of disobedience and 
treason were brought against them. At the end of verse 30 
the Septuagint adds : '' And he advanced them to be governors 
over all the Jews that were in his kingdom." It is not prob- 
able that he insisted on any further worship of his image. 




Verse 1. Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and 
languages, that dwell in all the earth ; Peace be multiplied unto you. 2. 
I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath 
wrought toward me. 3. How great are his signs ! and how mighty are 
his wonders 1 his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion 
is from generation to generation. 

©^^HIS chapter opens, says Dr. Clarke, with '^a regular 
^W^ decree, and one of the most ancient on record." It 
A was from the pen of Nebuchadnezzar, and was promul- 
gated in the usual form. He wishes to make known, not to a 
few only, but to all people, nations, and languages, the won- 
derful dealings of God with him. People are ever ready to 
tell what God has done for them in the way of benefits and 
blessings. We ought to be no less ready to tell what God has 
done for us in the way of humiliation and chastisements; and 
Nebuchadnezzar sets us a good example in this respect, as we 
shall see from the subsequent portions of this chapter. He 
.frankly confesses the vanity and pride of his heart, and the 
means that God took to abase him. With a genuine spirit of 
repentance and humiliation, he thinks it good, of his own free 
will, to show these things, that the sovereignty of God may be 
extolled, and his name adored. In reference to the kingdom, 
he no longer claims immutability for his own, but makes a full 
surrender to God, in acknowledging his kingdom alone to be 
everlasting, and his dominion from generation to generation. 

[85] 



86 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Verse 4. I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house and flourish- 
ing in my palace: 5. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the 
thoughts upon my bed and the vision* of my head troubled me. 6. 
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before 
me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the 
dream. 7. Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, 
and the soothsayers ; and I told the dream before them ; but they did not 
make known unto me the interpretation thereof. 8, But at the last 
Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to 
the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and 
before him I told the dream, saying, 9. O Belteshazzar, master of the 
magicians, because 1 know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and 
no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, 
and the interpretation thereof. 10. Thus were the visions of mine head 
in my bed : I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the 
hight thereof was great. 11. The tree grew, and was strong, and the 
hight thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of 
all the earth ; 12. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof 
much, and in it was meat for all : the beasts of the field had shadow 
under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and 
all flesh was fed of it. 13. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, 
and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; 14. He 
cried aloud, and said thus. Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, 
shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit : let the beasts get away from 
under it, and the fowls from his branches: 15. Nevertheless, leave the 
stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the 
tender grass of the field ; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and 
let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth ; IG. Let his 
heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him ; 
and let seven times pass over him. 17. This matter is by the decree of 
the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones ; to the in- 
tent that the living may know that the Most High rulcth in the kingdom 
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and settcth up over it the 
basest of men. 18. This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now 
thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all 
the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the in- 
terpretation : but thou art able ; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. 

In the events here narrated, several striking points may he 
noticed. 

1. Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in his house. lie had 
accomplished successfully all his enterprises. He had subdued 
Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Egypt, and Arabia. It was probably 
these great conquests that puffed him up, and betrayed him 
into such vanity and self-confidence. And this very time, 
wlion he felt most at rest and secure, when it was most ur 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 1-18. 81 

likely that he would allow a thought to disturb his self-com- 
placent tranquillity, — this very time God takes to trouble him 
with fears and forebodings. 

2. The means by which God did this. What could strike 
with fear the heart of such a monarch as Nebuchadnezzar ? He 
had been a warrior from his youth. With the perils of battle, 
the terrors of slaughter and carnage, he had often stood face 
to face, and his countenance had not blanched, nor his nerves 
trembled. And what should make him afraid now ? 'No foe 
threatened, no hostile cloud was visible. As the most unlikely 
time was taken for him to be touched with fear, so the most 
unlikely means was selected by which to accomplish it — a 
dream. His own thoughts, and the visions of his own head, 
were taken to teach him what nothing else could, — a salutary 
lesson of dependence and humility. He who had terrified 
others, but whom no others could terrify, was made a terror 
to himself. 

3. A still greater humiliation than that narrated m the 
second chapter was brought upon the magicians. There, they 
boasted that if they only had the dream, they could make 
known the interpretation. Here, Nebuchadnezzar distinctly 
remembers the dream, but meets the mortification of having 
his magicians ignominiously fail him again. They could not 
make known the interpretation, and resort is again had to the 
prophet of God. 

4. The remarkable illustration of the reign of Nebuchad- 
nezzar. This is symbolized by a tree in the midst of the earth. 
Babylon, where Nebuchadnezzar reigned, was about in the 
center of the then known world. The tree reached unto heaven, 
and the leaves thereof were fair. Its external glory and splen- 
dor were great; but this was not all of it, as is the case with 
too many kingdoms. It had internal excellences. Its fruit 
was much, and it had meat for all. The beasts of the field 
had shadow under it, the fowls of heaven dwelt in the boughs 
thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. What, could represent 
more plainly and forcibly the fact that Nebuchadnezzar ruled 
his kingdom in such a way as to afiord the fullest protection, 

7 



88 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

support, and prosperity to all liis subjects ? Really to accom- 
plish this is the perfection of earthly governments, and the 
highest glory of any kingdom. 

6. The mercy that God mingles with his judgments. When 
order was given that this tree should be cut down, it was 
commanded that the stump of the roots should be left in the 
earth, and protected with a band of iron and brass, that it 
might not be wholly given to decay, but that the source of 
future growth and greatness might be left. The day is com- 
ing when the wicked shall be cut down, and no such residue 
of hope be left them. 'No mercy will be mingled with their 
punishment. They shall be destroyed both root and branch. 

6. An important key to prophetic interpretation. Yerse 
16. "Let seven times pass over him," said the decree. This 
is plain, literal narration; hence the time is here to be under- 
stood literally. How long a period is denoted? This may 
be determined by ascertaining how long Nebuchadnezzar, in 
fulfilment of this prediction, was driven out to have his dwell- 
ing with the beasts of the field ; and this, Josephus informs us, 
was seven years. A " time," then, denotes one year. When 
used in symbolic prophecy, it would, of course, denote sym- 
bolic or prophetic time. A ' ' time ' ' would then denote a 
prophetic year, or, each day standing for a year, three hun- 
dred and sixty literal years. There will be occasion to refer 
to this fact under chapter 7 : 25. 

7. The interest that the holy ones, or the angels, take in 
human affairs. They are represented as demanding this deal- 
ing with Nebuchadnezzar. They see, as mortals never can 
see, how unseemly a thing is pride in the human heart. And 
they approve of, and sympathize w^tli, the decrees and provi- 
dences of God by which he works for the correction of these 
evils. Man must know that he is not the architect of his own 
fortune, but that there is One who ruleth in the kingdom of 
men, on whom his dependence should be humbly placed. A 
man may be a successful monarch, but he should not pride 
himself upon that ; for unless the Lord had sot him up, he 
would never have reached this position of honor- 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 19-27. 89 

8. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the supremacy of the 
true God over the heathen oracles. He appeals to Daniel to 
solve the mystery. " Thou art able," he says; " for the spirit 
of the holy gods is in thee. ' ' The Septuagint has the singular, 
the Spirit of the holy God. 

Verse 19. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied 
for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, 
Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. 
Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate 
thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. 20. The tree that 
thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose hight reached unto the 
heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth ; 21. Whose leaves were 
fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all ; under which 
the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the 
heaven had their habitation : 22. It is thou, O king, that art grown and 
become strong ; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, 
and thy dominion to the end of the earth. 23. And whereas the king saw 
a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew 
the tree down, and destroy it ; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in 
the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the 
field ; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be 
with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him ; 24. This is the 
interpretation, king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is 
come upon my lord the king ; 25. That they shall drive thee from men, 
and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and thej^ shall make 
thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, 
and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High 
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26. 
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots ; thy 
kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the 
heavens do rule. 27. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable 
unto thee, and break off thj" sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities 
by showing mercy to the poor ; if it may be a lengthening of thy tran- 
quillity. 

The hesitation of Daniel, who sat astonished for one hour, 
did not arise from any difficulty he had in interpreting the 
dream, but from its being so delicate a matter to make it 
known to the king. Daniel had received favor from the king, — 
nothing but favor, so far as we know, — and it came hard for 
him to be the bearer of so terrible a threatening of judgment 
against him as was involved in this dream. He was troubled 
to determine in what way he could best make it known. It 
seems the king anticipated something of this kind, and hence 



90 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

assured the prophet by tellmg him not to let the dream or the 
interpretation trouble him ; as if he Ir.id said, Do not hesitate 
to make it known, whatever bearing it may have upon me. 
Thus assured, Daniel speaks; and where can we find a paral- 
lel to the force and delicacy of his language: "The dream 
be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to 
thine enemies." A calamity is set forth in this dream, 
which we would might come upon your enemies rather than 
upon you. 

Nebuchadnezzar had given a minute statement of his 
dream; and as soon as Daniel informed him that the dream 
applied to himself, it was evident that he had pronounced his 
own sentence. The interpretation which follows is so plain 
that it need not detain us. The threatened judgments were 
conditional. They were to teach the king that the Heavens do 
rule, the w^ord heavens here being put for God, the ruler of 
the heavens. Hence Daniel takes occasion to give the king 
counsel in view of the threatened judgment. But he does not 
denounce him with harshness and censoriousness. Kindness 
and persuasion are the weapons he chooses to wield : * ' Let my 
counsel be acceptable unto thee." So the apostle beseeches 
men to suffer the word of exhortation. Heb. 13 : 22. If the 
king Avould break off his sins by righteousness, and his iniqui- 
ties by showing mercy to the poor, it might result in a length- 
ening of his tranquillity, or, as the margin reads, "An healing 
of thine error." That is, he might even have averted the judg- 
ment the Lord designed to bring upon him. 

Verse 28. All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29. At 
the end of twelve months he walked in the pahice of the kingdom of 
Babylon. 30. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, thai 
I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, 
and for the honor of my majesty ? 31. While the word was in the king's 
mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, 
to thee it is spoken : The kingdom is departed from thee. 32. And they 
shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of 
the field ; they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times 
shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruletli in the 
kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33. The same 
hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebiu'hadnczzar : and he was driven 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 28-37. 91 

from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew 
of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails 
like birds' claws. 

Nebuchadnezzar failed to profit by the warning he had 
received ; yet God bore with him twelve months before the 
blow fell. All the time he was cherishing pride in his heart, 
and at length it reached a climax beyond which God could not 
suffer it to pass. The king walked in the palace, and as he 
looked forth upon the wonders of that wonder of the world, 
greaJt Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, he forgot the source 
of all his strength and greatness, and exclaimed, ''Is not this 
great Babylon, that / have built ? " The time had come for his 
humiliation. A voice from heaven again announces the threat- 
ened judgment, and divine Providence proceeds immediately 
to execute it. His reason departed. No longer the pomp 
and glory of his great city charmed him, when God with 
a touch of his finger took away his capability to appreciate 
and enjoy it. He forsook the dwellings of men, and sought 
a home and companionship among the beasts of the forest. 

Verse 34, And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up 
mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and 
I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for- 
ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is 
from generation to generation: 35. And all the inhabitants of the earth 
are reputed as nothing ; and he doeth according to his will in the army of 
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth ; and none can stay his 
hand, or say unto him. What doest thou ? 36. At the same time my rea- 
son returned unto me ; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and 
brightness returned unto me ; and my counselors and my lords sought 
unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty 
was added unto me. 37. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and 
honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judg- 
ment ; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. 

At the end of seven years, God removed his afilicting hand, 
and the reason and understanding of the king returned to him 
again. His first act then was to bless the Most High. On 
this Matthew Henry has the following appropriate remark : 
' ' Those may justly be reckoned void of understandhig that do 
not bless and praise God; nor do men ever rightly use their 



92 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

reason till thej begin to be religious, nor live as men till they 
live to the glory of God. As reason is the substratum or sub- 
ject of religion (so that creatures which have no reason are not 
capable of religion), so religion is the crown and glory of 
reason; and we have our reason in vain, and shall one day 
wish we had never had it, if we do not glorify God with it." 

His honor and brightness returned to him again, his coun- 
selors sought unto him, and he was once more established in 
the kingdom. The promise was (verse 26) that his kingdom 
should be sure unto him. During his insanity, his son, Evil- 
merodach, is said to have reigned as regent in his stead. 
Daniel's interpretation of the dream was doubtless well under- 
stood throughout the palace, and was probably more or less the 
subject of conversation. Hence the return of Nebuchadnezzar 
to his kingdom must have been anticipated, and looked for 
with interest. Why he was permitted to make his home in 
the open field in so forlorn a condition, instead of being com- 
fortably cared for by the attendants of the palace, we are not 
informed. It is supposed that he dexterously escaped from the 
palace, and eluded all search. 

The affliction had its designed effect. The lesson of hu- 
mility was learned. He did not forget it with returning pros- 
perity. He was ready to acknowledge that the Most High 
rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he 
will; and he sent forth through all his realm a royal proclama- 
tion, containing an acknowledgment of his pride, and a mani- 
festo of praise and adoration to the King of heaven. 

This is the last Scripture record we have of Nebuchadnez- 
zar. This decree is dated in the authorized version, says Dr. 
Clarke, 563 b. c, one year before Nebuchadnezzar's death; 
though some place the date of this decree seventeen years be- 
fore his death. Be this as it may, it is probable that he did 
not again relapse into idolatry, but died in the faith of the God 
of Israel. 

Thus closed the life of this remarkable man. With all the 
temptations incident to his exalted position as king, may we not 
suppose that God saw in him honesty of heart, integrity, and 



CHAPTER 4, VERSES 28-37. 



93 



purity of purpose, which he could use to the glory of his name ? 
Hence his wonderful dealings with him, all of which seem to 
have been designed to wean him from his false religion, and 
attach him to the service of the true God. We have, first, his 
dream of the great image, containing such a valuable lesson 
for the people of all coming generations. Secondly, his expe- 
rience with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in reference to 
his golden image, wherein he was again led to an acknowledg- 
ment of the supremacy of the true God. And lastly, we have 
the wonderful incidents recorded in this chapter, showing the 
still unceasing efforts of the Lord to bring him to a full ac- 
knowledgment of himself. And may we not hope that the 
most illustrious king of the first prophetic kingdom, the head 
of gold, may at last have part in that kingdom before which all 
earthly kingdoms shall become as chaff, and the glory of which 
shall never dim ? 




H AFTER V ^^^ 




Verse 1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his 
lords, and dranli wine before the thousand. 

(gp^p/HE chief feature of interest pertaining to this chapter is 
^ fe the fact that it describes the closing scenes of the Baby- 
%!}' lonish empire, the transition from the gold to the silver 
of the great image of chapter 2, and from the lion to the bear 
of Daniel's vision in chapter 7. This feast is supposed by some 
to have been a stated annual festival, in honor of one of their 
deities. On this account, Cyrus, who was then besieging 
Babylon, learned of its approach, and knew when to lay his 
plans for the overthrow of the city. Our translation reads that 
Belshazzar, having invited a thousand of Jiis lords, drank be- 
fore the thousand. Some translate it, '^ drank against the 
thousand," showing that whatever other propensities he may 
have had, he was, at least, an enormous drinker. 



Verse 2. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring 
the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken 
out of the temple which was in Jerusalem ; that the king, and his 
princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3. Then 
they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the 
house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, 
his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4. They drank wine, and 
praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of irou, of wood, and of 
stone. 

[1)4 1 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 1-9. 95 

That this festival had some reference to former victories 
over the Jews may be inferred from the fact that the king, 
when he began to be heated with his wine, called for the sa- 
cred vessels which had been taken from Jerusalem. It would 
be most likely that, lost to a sense of all sacred things, he 
would use them to celebrate the victory by which they were 
obtained. 'No other king, probably, had carried his impiety to 
such a hight as this. And while they drank wine from vessels 
dedicated to the true God, they praised their gods of gold, sil- 
ver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. Perhaps, as noticed on 
chapter 3 : 29, they celebrated the superior power of their gods 
over the God of the Jews, from whose vessels they now dranl? 
to their heathen deities. 

Verse 5. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and 
wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the 
king's palace ; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6. 
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled 
him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one 
against another. 7. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, 
the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the 
wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me 
the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain 
of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 8. 
Then came in all the king's wise men : but they could not read the writ- 
ing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. 9. Then 
was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed 
in him, and his lords were astonied. 

No flashes of supernatural light, nor deafening peals of 
thunder, announced the interference of God in their impious 
revelries. A hand silently appeared, tracing mystic characters 
upon the wall. It wrote over against the candlestick. In the 
light of their own lamp they saw it. Terror seized upon the 
king; for his conscience accused him. Although he could not 
read the writing, he knew it was no message of peace and 
blessing that was traced in glittering characters upon his palace 
wall. And the description the prophet gives of the effect of 
the king's fear cannot be excelled in any particular. The 
king's countenance was changed, his heart failed him, pain 
seized upon him, and so violent was his trembling that his 



96 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

knees smote one against another. He forgot his boasting and 
revelry; he forgot his dignity; and he cried aloud for his as- 
trologers and soothsayers to solve the meaning of the terrible 
apparition. 

Verse 10. Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his 
lords came into the banquet house : and the queen spake and said, O king, 
live forever; let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance 
be changed. 11. There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of 
the holy gods ; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and 
wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him ; whom the king 
Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of 
the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers ; 12. Forasmuch as 
an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of 
dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were 
found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar : now 
let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. 13. Then was 
Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto 
Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity 
of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? 14. I have 
even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light 
and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15. And now 
the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they 
should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation 
thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing. 16. 
And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dis- 
solve doubts : now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me 
the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a 
chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 

It appears from the circumstance here narrated, that the 
fact that Daniel was a prophet of God, had by some means 
been lost sight of at the court and palace. This was doubtless 
owing to his having been absent at Shushan in the province of 
Elam, as narrated in chapter 8 : 1, 2, 27, whither he had been 
sent to attend to the business of the kingdom there. The 
country being swept by the Persian army would compel his 
return to Babylon at this time. The queen who came in and 
made known to the king that there was such a person to whom 
appeal could be made for knowledge in supernatural things, is 
supposed to have been the queen mother, the daughter of Nebu 
chadnezzar, in whose memory the wonderful part Daniel had 
acted in her father's reign would still be fresh and vivid. Nebu- 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 10-24 97 

chadnezzar is here called Belshazzar's father, according to the 
then common custom of calling any paternal ancestor, father, 
and any male descendant, son. Nebuchadnezzar was in reality 
his grandfather. The king inquired of Daniel when he came 
in, if he was of the children of the captivity of Judah. Thus it 
seems to have been ordered, that while they were holding impi- 
ous revelry in honor of their false gods, a servant of the true 
God, and one whom they were holding in captivity, was called 
in to pronounce the merited judgment upon their wicked course. 

Verse 17. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy 
gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another ; yet I will read the 
writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18. 
O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a king- 
dom, and majesty, and glory, and honor; 19. And for the majesty that 
he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared be- 
fore him : whom he would he slew ; and whom he would he kept alive ; 
and whom he would he set up ; and whom he would he put down. 20. 
But when -his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he 
was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: 
21. And he was driven from the sons of men ; and his heart was made like 
the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses : they fed him with 
grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven ; till he 
knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he 
aj)pointeth over it whomsoever he will. 22. And thou his son, O Bel- 
shazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this ; 23. 
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven ; and they have 
brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy 
wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them ; and thou hast 
praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which 
see not, nor hear, nor know : and the God in whose hand thy breath is, 
and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified : 24. Then was the 
part of the hand sent from him ; and this writing was written. 

Daniel first of all disclaims the idea of being influenced by 
such motives as governed the soothsayers and astrologers. He 
says. Let thy rewards be to another. He wishes it distinctly 
understood that he does not enter upon the work of interpret- 
ing this matter on account of the offer of gifts and rewards. 
He then rehearses the experience of the king's grandfather, 
Nebuchadnezzar, as set forth in the preceding chapter. He 
told the king that though he knew all this, yet he had not 
humbled his heart, but had lifted up himself against the God 



98 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

of heaven, and even carried his impiety so far as to profane 
his sacred vessels, praising the senseless gods of men's making, 
and failing to glorify the God in whose hands his breath was. 
For this reason, he tells him, it is, that the hand has been sent 
forth from that God whom he had daringly >and insultingly 
challenged, to trace those characters of fearful, though hidden 
import. He then proceeds to explain the writing. 

Verse 25. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, 
TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 2C. This is the interpretation of the thing: 
MENE ; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27. TEKEL ; 
Tliou art weighed in the balances, and art found Avanting. 28. PERES ; 
Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29. Then 
commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a 
chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, 
that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 

It is not known in what language this inscription was 
written. If it had been in Chaldaic, the king's wise men 
would have been able to read it. Dr. Clarke conjectures that 
it was written in the Samaritan, the true Hebrew, a language 
with which Daniel was familiar, as it was the character used 
by the Jews previous to the Babylonish captivity. It seems 
much more likely that it was a character strange to all the 
parties, and that it was specially made known to Daniel by 
the Spirit of the Lord. 

In this inscription each word stands for a short sentence. 
Mene^ numbered ; Tehel^ weighed ; TJjyliarsln^ from the root 
yeres^ divided. God, whom thou hast defied, has thy king- 
dom in his own hands, and has numbered its days and finished 
its course, just at the time thou thoughtest it at the hight of its 
prosperity. Thou, who hast lifted up thy heart in pride, as 
the great one of the earth, art weighed, and found lighter than 
vanity. Thy kingdom, which thou didst dream was to stand for 
ever, is divided between the foes already waiting at thy gates. 
Notwithstanding this terrible denunciation, Belshazzar did not 
forget his promise, but had Daniel at once invested with the 
scarlet robe and chain of gold, and proclaimed him third ruler 
in the kingdom. This Daniel accepted, probably with a view 



CHAPTER 5, VERSES 25-31. 99 

to be better prepared to look after the interests of Lis people 
during the transition to the succeeding kingdom. 

Yekse 30. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans 
slain. 31. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three- 
score and two years old. 

The scene here so briefly mentioned is described in remarks 
on chapter 2, verse 39. While Belshazzar was indulging in 
his presumptuous revelry, while the angel's hand was tracing 
the doom of the empire on the walls of the palace, while Daniel 
was making known the fearful import of the heavenly writing, 
the Persian soldiery, through the emptied channel of the 
Euphrates, had made their way into the heart of the city, 
and were speeding forward with drawn swords to the palace 
of the king. Scarcely can it be said that they surprised him, 
for God had just forewarned him of his doom. But they 
found him and slew him; and with him the empire of Babylon 
ceased to be. 



LrfC 




(7/1/5^ PTER, VI 



ii iiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiimii) 



IN THE LIONS 




lil'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 





iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 



Verse 1. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and 
twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom ; 2. And over 
these three presidents ; of whom Daniel was first ; that the princes might 
give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. 3, Then 
this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an 
excellent spirit was in him ; and the king thought to set him over the 
whole realm. 4. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion 
against Daniel concerning the kingdom ; but they could find none occa- 
sion nor fault ; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error 
or fault found in him. 5. Then said these men, We shall not find any 
occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning 
the law of his God. 



^)j ABYLON was taken bj the Persians, and Darius the 
^ Median placed upon the throne, b. c. 538. Two years 
later, b. c. 536, Darius dying, Cyrus took the throne. 
Somewhere, therefore, between these two dates the event here 
narrated occurred. 

Daniel was a chief actor in the kingdom of Babylon in the 
hight of its glory; and from that time on, to the time when 
the Medes and Persians took the throne of universal empire, 
he was at least a resident of that city, and acquainted with all 
the affairs of the kingdom ; yet he gives us no consecutive 
account of events that occurred during his long coi^iecj:ion with 
these kingdoms. He only touches upon an event here and 
there such as is calculated to inspire faith and hope and cour- 
[106] 



CHAPTER G, VERSES 1-10. lO? 

age in the hearts of the people of God in every age, and lead 
them to be steadfast in their adherence to the right. 

The event narrated in this chapter is alluded to by the 
apostle Paul in Hebrews 11, where he speaks of some who 
through faith have ' ' stopped the mouths of lions. ' ' Darius 
set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, there 
being, as is supposed, at that time a hundred and twenty 
provinces in the empire, each one having its prince, or gov- 
ernor. By the victories of Cambyses and Darius Hystaspes, 
it was afterward enlarged to a hundred and twenty-seven prov- 
inces. Esther 1:1. Over these one hundred and twenty 
prmces were set three, and of these Daniel was chief. Pref- 
erence was given to Daniel because of his excellent spirit. 
Daniel, who, for being a great man in the empire of Babylon, 
might h^ve been esteemed an enemy by Darius, and so have 
been banished or otherwise put out of the way ; or, being a 
captive from a nation then in ruins, might have been despised 
and set at naught, was not treated in either of these ways; but 
to the credit of Darius be it said, Daniel was preferred over 
all the others, because the discerning king saw in him an 
excellent spirit. And the king thought to set him over the 
whole realm. Then was the envy of the other rulers raised 
against him, and they set about to destroy him. But Daniel's 
conduct was perfect so far as related to the kingdom. He was 
faithful and true. They could find no ground for complaint 
against him on that score. Then they said they could find no 
occasion to accuse him, except as concerning the law of his 
God. So let it be with us. A person can have no better 
recommendation. 

Verse 6. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to 
the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live forever. 7. All the 
presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, 
and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and 
to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or 
man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of 
lions. 8. Now. O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it 
be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which 
altereth not. 9. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 



108 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing. was signed, he went into his 
house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he 
kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks 
before his God, as he did aforetime. 

Mark the course these persons took to accomplish their 
nefarious purposes. They came together to the king, — came 
tumultuously, says the margin. They came as though some 
urgent matter had suddenly come up, and they had come 
unanimously to present it before him. They claimed that all 
were agreed. This was false ; for Daniel, the chief of them 
all, was not, of course, consulted in the matter. The decree 
they fixed upon was one which would flatter the king's vanity, 
and thus the more readily gain his assent. It would be a posi- 
tion before unheard of, for a man to be the only dispenser of 
favors and granter of petitions for thirty days. Ht?nce the 
king, not fathoming their evil designs, signed the decree, and 
it took its place on the statute-book as one of the unalterable 
laws of the Medes and Persians. 

Mark the subtlety of these men — the length to which 
people will go to accomplish the ruin of the good. If they 
had made the decree read that no petition should be asked of 
the God of the Hebrews, which w^as the real design of the 
matter, the king would at once have divined their object, 
and the decree would not have been signed. So they gave 
it a general application, and were willing to ignore and heap 
insult upon their whole system of religion, and all the multi- 
tude of their gods, for the sake of ruining the object of their 
hatred. 

Daniel foresaw the conspiracy going on against him, but 
took no means to thwart it. He simply committed himself to 
God, and left the issue to his providence. He did not leave 
the empire on pretended business, or perform his devotions 
with more than ordinary secrecy; but when he knew the writing 
was signed, just as aforetime, with his face turned toward his 
beloved Jerusalem, he kneeled down in his cliamber three 
times a day, and poured out his prayers and supplications 
to God. 






I 



«s^*. 



i ^ 



^v^ 




CHAPTER 6, VERSES 11-17. 109 

Verse 11. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and 
making supplication before his God. 12. T^hen they came near, and spake 
before the king concerning the king's decree: Hast thou not signed a 
decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within 
thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions ? The 
king answered and said, The thing is tr.ue; according to the law of the 
Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 13. Then answered they and 
said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the cap- 
tivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast 
signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 14. Then the king, 
when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his 
heart on Daniel to deliver him ; and he labored till t-he going down of the 
sun to deliver him. 15. Then these men assembled unto the king, and 
said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Per- 
sians is. That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be 
changed. 16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, 
and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto 
Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. 
17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den ; and 
the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords, 
that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 

It only remained for these men, having set the trap, to 
watch their victim that they might ensnare him therein. So 
they again came tumultnously together, this time at the resi- 
dence of Daniel, as though some important business had called 
them suddenly together to consult the chief of the presidents; 
and lo, they found him, just as they intended and hoped, pray- 
ing to his God. So far all had worked well. They were not 
long in going to the king with the matter, and, to render it 
more sure, got an acknowledgment from the king that such a 
decree was in force. Then they were ready to inform against 
Daniel; and mark their mean resort to excite the prejudices of 
the king : '^ That Daniel, which is of the children of the 
captivity of Judah." Yes; that poor captive, who is entirely 
dependent on you for all that he enjoys, so far from being 
grateful and appreciating your favors, regards not you, nor 
pays any attention to your decree. Then the king saw the 
trap that had been prepared for him as well as for Daniel, 
and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him, 
probably by personal efforts with the conspirators to cause 
them to relent, or by arguments and endeavors to procui*e the 



110 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

repeal of the law. But they were inexorable. The law was 
sustained; and Daniel, the venerable, the grave, the upright 
and faultless servant of the kingdom, was thrown, as if lie had 
been one of the vilest of malefactors, into the den of lions to 
be devoured by them. 

Verse 18. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night 
fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him; and 
his sleep went from him. 19. Then the king arose very early in the 
morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20. And when he 
came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel ; and the 
king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is 
thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the 
lions ? 21. Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. 22. 
My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they 
have not hurt me ; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me ; 
and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. 23. Then was the king 
exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel 
up out of tlie den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no man- 
ner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. 24. 
And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had 
accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their 
children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and 
brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at' the bottom of the 
den. 

The course of the king after Daniel had been cast into the 
den of lions attests his genuine interest in his behalf, and the 
severe condemnation he felt for his own course in the matter. 
At earliest dawn he repaired to the den where his prime min- 
ister had passed the night in company with hungry and rav- 
enous beasts. Daniel's response to his first salutation was no 
word of reproach for the king's course in yielding to his perse- 
cutors, but a term of respect and honor, " O king, live forever.'' 
He afterward, however, reminds the king, in a manner which 
he must have keenly felt, but to which he could take no ex- 
ception, that before him he had done no hurt. And on account 
of his innocency, God, whom he served continually, not at in- 
tervals, nor by fits and starts, had sent his angel, and shut the 
lions' mouths. 

Here, then, stood Daniel, preserved by a power higher than 
any power of earth. His cause was vindicated, his innocency 



CHAPTER 6, VERSES 18-28. Ill 

declared. No hurt was found on him, because lie believed in 
his God. Faith did it. A miracle had been wrought. Why, 
then, were Daniel's accusers brought and cast in ? It is con- 
jectured that they attributed the preservation of Daniel, not to 
any miracle in his behalf, but to the fact that the lions chanced 
at that time not to be hungry. Then, said the king, they will 
no more attack you than him, so we will test the matter by put- 
ting you in. The lions were hungry enough when they could 
get hold of the guilty; and these men were torn to pieces ere 
they reached the bottom of the den. Thus was Daniel doubly 
vindicated; and thus strikingly were the words of Solomon 
fulfilled : ' ' The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the 
wicked cometh in his stead." Prov. 11 : 8. 

Verse 25. Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and lan- 
guages, that dwell in all the earth : Peace be multiplied unto you. 26. I 
make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and 
fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and steadfast for- 
ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his domin- 
ion shall be even unto the end. 27. He delivereth and rescueth, and he 
worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered 
Daniel from the power of the lions. 28. So this Daniel prospered in the 
reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. 

The result of Daniel's deliverance was that another procla- 
mation went out thi'ough the empire in favor of the true God, 
the God of Israel. All men were to fear and tremble before 
him. "What Daniel's enemies designed to prove his ruin, re- 
sulted only in his advancement. In this case, and in the case 
of the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace, the seal of God is set 
in favor of two great lines of duty : (1) As in the case of the 
three in the fiery furnace, not to yield to any known sin; and 
(2) As in the present case, not to omit any known duty. And 
from these instances, the people of God in all ages are to 
derive encouragement. 

The decree of the king sets forth the character of the true 
God in fine terms. (1) He is the living God; all others are 
dead. (2) He is steadfast forever ; all others change. (3) He 
has a kingdom; for he made and governs all. (A) His kingdom 
shall not be destroyed; all others come to an end. (5) His do- 



112 



PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



minion is without end; no human power can prevail against it. 
(6) He delivereth those who are in bondage. (7) lie rescueth 
his servants from their enemies when they call upon him for 
help. (8) He worketh wonders in the heavens and signs upon 
the earth. (9) And to complete all, he hath delivered Daniel, 
giving before our own eyes the fullest proof of his power and 
goodness in rescuing his servant from the power of the lions. 
How excellent an eulogium is this on the great God and his 
faithful servant ! 

Thus closes the historical part of the book of Daniel. We 
now come to the prophetic portion, which, like a shining bea- 
con light, has thrown its rays over all the course of time from 
that point to the present, and is still lighting up the pathway 
of the church onward to the eternal kingdom. 





Verse 1. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had 
a dream and visions of his head upon his bed ; then he wrote the dream, 
and told the sum of the matters. 

S^^HIS is the same Belshazzar mentioned in chapter 5. 
^Wf" Chronologically, therefore, this chapter follows chapter 
A 6; but chronological order has been disregarded in 
order that the historical part of the book might stand by itself, 
and the prophetic part, on which we now enter, might not be 
interrupted by writings of that nature. 



Verse 2. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, 
behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3. And 
four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 

All Scripture language is to be taken literally, unless there 
exists some good reason for supposing it to be figurative; and 
all that is figurative is to be interpreted by that which is literal. 
That the language here used is symbolic, is evident from verse 
17, which reads, ''These great beasts, which are four, are four 
kings which shall arise' out of the earth." And to show that 
kingdoms are intended, and not merely individual kings, the 
angel continued, ' ' But the saints of the Most High shall take 
the kingdom." And further, in the explanation in verse 23, 
the angel said, ' ' The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom 
upon the earth," These beast are therefore symbols of four 

[113] 



114 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

great kingdoms ; and the circumstances under which they 
arose, and the means by which their elevation was accom- 
plished, as represented in the prophecy, are symbolic also. 
The symbols introduced are, the four winds, the sea, four 
great beasts, ten horns, and another horn which had eyes and 
a mouth, and rose up in war against God and his people. We 
have now to inquire what they denote. 

Winds, in symbolic language, denote strife, political com- 
motion, and war. Jer. 25 : 31, 32, 33 : "Thus saith the Lord 
of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and 
a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the 
earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from 
one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth." 
Here the prophet speaks of a controversy which the Lord is to 
haA^e with all nations, when the wicked shall be given to the 
sword, and the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the 
earth to the other; and the strife and commotion which pro- 
duces all this destruction is called a great whirlwind. 

That winds denote strife and war is further evident from a 
consideration of the vision itself; for as the result of the striv- 
ing of the winds, kingdoms arise and fall; and these events 
are accomplished through political strife. 

The Bible definition of sea, or waters, when used as a sym- 
bol, is, peoples, and nations, and tongues. In proof of this, 
see Kev. 17 : 15, where it is expressly so declared. 

The definition of the symbol of the four beasts is given to 
Daniel ere the close of the vision. Yerse 17: "These great 
beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of 
the earth." The field of the vision is thus definitely opened 
before us. 

Verse 4. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings ; I beheld 
till the win<j^s thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, 
and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 

As these beasts denote four kings, or kingdoms, we inquire. 
What four ? Where shall we commence to enumerate i These 
beasts do not rise all at once, but consecutively, as they are 



til,ll " I St. 




THE LION -SYMBOL OP BABYLON. 




THE BEAR-SYHBOL OF HEDO-PERSIA. 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 1-5. 115 

spoken of as first, second, etc. ; and the last one is in existence 
when all earthly scenes are brought to an end by the final 
Judgment. Now, from the time of Daniel to the end of this 
world's history, there were to be but four universal kingdoms, 
as we learn from Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great image 
in chapter 2. Daniel was still living under the same king- 
dom which he had declared, in his interpretation of the king's 
dream, about sixty-five years before, to be the head of gold. 
The first beast of this vision must therefore denote the same 
as the head of gold of the great image, namely, the kingdom of 
Babylon, and the other beasts the succeeding kingdoms shown 
by that image. But if this vision covers essentially the same 
ground as the image of chapter 2, the query may arise why 
it is given ; why was not the vision of chapter 2 sufficient ? 
We answer, The ground is passed over again and again that 
additional characteristics may be brought out, and additional 
facts and features may be presented. It is thus that we have 
' ' line upon line. ' ' Here earthly governments are viewed aa 
represented in the light of Heaven. Their true character is 
shown by the symbol of wild and ravenous beasts. 

At first the lion had eagle's wings, denoting the rapidity 
with which Babylon extended its conquests under Nebuchad- 
nezzar. At this point in the vision a change had taken place; 
its wings had been plucked. It no longer flew like an eagle 
upon its prey. The boldness and spirit of the lion were gone. 
A man's heart, weak, timorous, and faint, had taken its place. 
Such was emphatically the case with the nation during the clos- 
ing years of its history, when it had become enfeebled and 
effeminate through wealth and luxury. 

Verse 5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it 
raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it 
between the teeth of it ; and they said thus unto it. Arise, devour much 
flesh. 

As in the great image of chapter 2, so in this series of sym- 
bols, a marked deterioration will be noticed as we descend from 
one kingdom to another. The silver of the breast and arms 



116 PROPHECY OF DANIEL 

was inferior to the gold of the head. The bear was inferior 
to the lion. Medo-Persia fell short of Babylon in wealth and 
magnificence, and the brilliancy of its career. And now we 
come to additional particulars respecting this power. The bear 
raised itself up on one side. This kingdom was composed of 
two nationalities, the Medes and the Persians. The same fact 
is represented by the two horns of the ram of chapter 8. Of 
these horns it is said that the higher came up last; and of the 
bear that it raised itself up on one side ; and this was fulfilled 
by the Persian division of the kingdom, which came up last, 
but attained the higher eminence, becoming the controlling 
influence in the nation. (See on chapter S : 3.) The three ribs 
perhaps signify the three provinces of Babylon, Lydia, and 
Egypt, which were especially ground down and oppressed by 
this power. Their saying unto it, <' Arise, devour much flesh," 
would naturally refer to the stimulus given to the Medes and 
Persians, by the overthrow of these provinces, to plan and 
undertake more extensive conquests. The character of the 
power is well represented by a bear. The Medes and Persians 
were cruel and rapacious, robbers and spoilers of the people. 
As already noticed in the exposition of chapter 2, this kingdom 
dated from the overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus, b. c. 538, and 
continued to the battle of Arbela, b. c. 331, a period of 207 
years. 

Verse G. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which 
had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl ; the beast had also four 
lieads; and dominion was given to it. 

The third kingdom, Grecia, is represented by this symbol. 
If wings upon the lion signified rapidity of conquest, they 
would signify the same here. The leopard itself is a swift- 
footed beast, but this was not sufiicient to represent the career 
of the nation which it symbolized in this respect; it must have 
wings in addition. Two wings, the number the lion had, were 
not sufficient, it must have four ; this would denote unparal- 
leled celerity of movement, which we find to be historically 
true of the Grecian kingdom. Tlie conquests of Grecia under 




THE LEOPARD — SYMBOL OF QRECIA, 




THE FOURTH BEAST — SYHBOL OF ROHE. 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 6, 7. 117 

Alexander have no parallel in historic annals for suddenness 
and rapidity. 

Kollin, Ancient History, b. 15, sec. 2, gives the following 
brief synopsis of Alexander' s marches : — • 

''From Macedonia to the Ganges, which river Alexander 
nearly approached, is computed at least eleven hundred leagues. 
Add to this the various turnings in Alexander's marches; first, 
from the extremity of Cilicia, where the battle of Issus was 
fought, to the temple of Jupiter Ammon in Libya; and his re- 
turning from thence to Tyre, a journey of three hundred 
leagues at least, and as much space at least for the windings 
of his route in different places ; we shall find that Alexander, 
in less than eight years, marched his army upward of seven- 
teen hundred leagues [or more than fifty -one Jhundred miles']^ 
without including his return to Babylon." 

"The beast had also four heads." The Grecian empire 
maintained its unity but little longer than the lifetime of Alex- 
ander. Within fifteen years after his brilliant career ended in 
a fever induced by a drunken debauch, the empire was divided 
among his four leading generals. Cassander had Macedon and 
Greece in the west; Lysimachus had Thrace and the parts of 
Asia on the Hellespont and Bosporus in the north; Ptolemy 
received Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, Palestine, and Coele-Syria in 
the south; and Seleucus had Syria and all the rest of Alex- 
ander's dominions in the east. These divisions were denoted 
by the four heads of the leopard, b. c. 308. 

Thus accurately were the words of the prophet fulfilled. 
As Alexander left no available successor, why did not the huge 
empire break up into countless petty fragments ? Why into just 
four parts, and no more ? — Because the prophecy had said that 
there should be four. The leopard had four heads, the rough 
goat four horns, the kingdom was to have four divisions; and 
thus it was. (See more fully on chapter 8.) 

Verse 7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth 
beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly : and it had great iron 
teeth ■, it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with 



118 PROPHECY OF DANIFJ.. 

the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; 
and it had ten horns. 

Inspiration finds no beast in nature which it can make even 
the basis of a symbol to represent the power here illustrated. 
No addition of hoofs, heads, horns, wings, scales, teeth, or nails 
to any beast found in nature, would answer. This power was 
diverse from all the others, and the symbol wholly nondescript. 

The foundation for a volume is laid in verse T, just quoted; 
but we are compelled to treat it the more briefly here, be- 
cause anything like a full history is entirely beyond the space 
that can be allowed in this brief exposition. This beast, of 
course, corresponds to the fourth division of the great image — 
the legs of iron. Under chapter 2 : 40 are given some reasons 
for supposing this power to be Rome. The same reasons are 
applicable to the present prophecy. How accurately Rome 
answered to the iron division of the image ! How accurately it 
answers to the beast before us ! In the dread and terror which 
it inspired, and in its exceeding strength, the world has never 
seen its equal. It devoured as with iron teeth, and brake in 
pieces; and it ground the nations into the very dust beneath 
its brazen feet. It had ten horns, which are explained in 
verse 24 to be ten kings, or kingdoms, which should arise out 
of this empire. As already noticed in chapter 2, Rome was 
divided into ten kingdoms, enumerated as follows: The Huns, 
the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Franks, the Vandals, the 
Suevi, the Burgundians, the Heruli, the Anglo-Saxons, and the 
Lombards. These divisions have ever since been spoken of as 
the ten kingdoms of the Roman empire. a. d. 351-483. 
See on chapter 2:41, 42; also Appendix III. 

Verse 8. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among 
them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns 
plucked up by the roots ; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the 
eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 

Daniel considered the horns. Indicatioiis of a strange move- 
ment appeared among them. A little horn (at first little, but 
afterward more stout than its fellows) thrust itself up among 




THR UTTLe HORN -SYMBOL OF THl^ PAPACY. 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 8-10. 119 

them. It was not content quietlj to find a place of its own, and 
fill it; it must thrust aside some of the others, and usurp their 
places. Three kingdoms were plucked up before it. This little 
horn, as we shall have occasion to notice more fully hereafter, 
was the papacy. The three horns plucked up before it were 
the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Yandals. And the reason 
why they were plucked up was because they were opposed to 
the arrogant claims of the papal hierarchy, and hence to the 
supremacy in the church of the bishop of Rome. 

And ' ' in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a 
mouth speaking great things," — the eyes, a fit emblem of the 
shrewdness, penetration, cunning, and foresight of the papal 
hierarchy; and the mouth speaking great things, a fit symbol 
of the arrogant claims of the bishops of Rome. 

Verse 9. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient 
of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his 
head like the pure wool ; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his 
wheels as burning fire. 10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from 
before him ; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand 
times ten thousand stood before him ; the judgment was set, and the 
books were opened. 

A sublimer description of a sublimer scene is not to be 
found in the English language. But not only on account of 
the grand and lofty imagery introduced should it arrest our 
attention; the nature of the scene itself is such as to demand 
most serious consideration. The Judgment is brought to view; 
and whenever the Judgment is mentioned, it ought to take an 
irresistible hold upon every mind; for all have an interest in its 
eternal issues. 

By an unfortunate translation in verse 9, a wrong idea is 
almost sure to be conveyed. The words cast down are from a 
word which in the original signifies just the opposite, namely, 
to set up. The word ^9? [/•'m<^7^.] Gesenius defines as follows : 
'' Chald. 1. To cast, to throw, Dan 3 : 20, 21, 24 ; 6 : 17. 2. 
To set, to jplace, e. g., thrones, Dan. 7 : 9. Comp. Rev. 4 : 2, 
^gdvog eaeiTo and ^Tr No. 2." The Analytical Hebrew and Chal- 
dee Lexicon, by Davidson, also gives to this word the definition 

10 



120 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

*'to set, to place," and refers to Dan. 7 : 9 as an example of 
its use in this sense. Why this word was used to express the 
idea here intended may perhaps be learned from the following 
note found in the Cottage Bible : *' Yer. 9. The thrones were 
cast down. Wintle, ' Were placed.' So Boothroyd. But both 
come to the same meaning. The Asiatics have neither chairs 
nor stools, but, to receive persons of rank, * cast down,' or 
'place,' cushions round the room for seats, which seems to 
be here alluded to. See Matt. 19:28; Kev. 20:4." Dr. 
Clarke says that the word '' might be translated erected; so the 
Yulgate, ^6>5^^^ sunt [were placed], and so all the versions." 
The Septuagint has hrEdrjaav (etethesan)^ which is defined to 
mean *' to set, put, place ; to set up ; to erect." The thrones 
are not the thrones of earthly kingdoms, which are to be 
thrown down at the last day, but thrones of judgment, which 
are to be "placed," or set up, in the court of God on high 
just before the end. 

The *' Ancient of days," God the Father, takes the throne 
of judgment. Mark the description of his person. Those who 
believe in the impersonality of God are obliged to admit that 
he is here described as a personal being ; but they console 
themselves by saying that it is the only description of the kind 
in the Bible. We do not admit this latter assertion ; but 
granting that it were true, is not one description of this kind 
as fatal to their theory as though it were repeated a score of 
times ? The thousand thousands who minister unto him, and 
the ten thousand times ten thousand who stand before him, are 
not sinners arraigned before the judgment-seat, but heavenly 
beings who wait before him, attendant on his will. An unde\*- 
standing of these verses involves an understanding of the sub- 
ject of the sanctuary; and to works on this question we refer 
the reader. The closing up of the ministration of Christ, our 
great High Priest, in the heavenly sanctuary, is the work of 
judgment here introduced. It is an investigative judgment. 
The books are opened, and the cases of all come up for exami- 
nation before that great tribunal, that it may be determined 
beforehand who are to receive eternal life when the Lord sliall 



CH4PTER 7, VERSES 11, 12. 121 

come to confer it upon his people. John, as recorded in Rev- 
elation 5, had a view of this same place, and saw the same 
number of heavenly attendants engaged with Christ in the 
work of investigative judgment. Looking into the sanctuary 
(as we learn from Revelation 4 that he was doing), in chapter 
5 : 11 he says, "And I beheld, and I Heard the voice of many 
angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders; 
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, 
and thousands of thousands. ' ' 

It will appear from the testimony of chapter 8 : 14, that 
this solemn work is even now transpiring in the sanctuary 
above. 

Verse 11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which 
the horn spake ; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body de- 
stroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12. As concerning the rest of 
the beasts, they had their dominion taken away ; yet their lives were pro- 
longed for a season and time. 

There are persons who believe in a thousand years' triumph 
of the gospel and reign of righteousness over all the world 
before the Lord comes; and there are others who believe in 
probation after the Lord comes, and a mixed millennium, the 
immortal righteous still proclaiming the gospel to mortal sin- 
ners, and turning them into the way of salvation. But both of 
these systems of error are completely demolished by the verses 
before us. 

1. The fourth terrible beast continues without change of 
character, and the little horn continues to utter its blasphemies, 
and hold its millions of votaries in the bonds of a blind super- 
stition, till the beast is given to the burning flame; and this is 
not its conversion, but its destruction. (See 2 Thess. 2:8.) 

2. The life of the fourth beast is not prolonged after its 
dominion is gone, as were the lives of the preceding beasts. 
Their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged 
for a season. The territory and subjects of the Babylonian 
kingdom still existed, though made subject to the Persians. 
So of the Persian kingdom in respect to Grecia, and of Grecia 
in respect to Rome. But what succeeds the fourth kingdom ? 



122 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

— No government or state in which mortals have any part. 
Its career ends in the lake of fire, and it has no existence be- 
yond. The lion was merged into the bear; the bear into the 
leopard; the leopard into the fourth beast; and the fourth beast 
into what ? — Not into another beast ; but it is cast into the 
lake of fire, under which destruction it rests till men shall suf- 
fer the second death. Then let no one talk of probation or a 
mixed millennium after the Lord comes. 

The Sidvevh then, in the sentence, ''I beheld then because 
of the voice of the great words which the horn spake," etc., 
seems to refer to some particular time. The work of the investi- 
gative judgment is introduced in the previous verses; and this 
verse would seem to imply that while this work is going for- 
ward, and just before this power is destroyed and given to the 
burning flame, the little horn utters its great words against the 
Most High. Have we not heard them, and that, too, within a 
few years ? Look at the decrees of the Vatican Council of 
1870. What can be more blasphemous than to attribute in- 
fallibility to a mortal man ? Yet in that year the world beheld 
the spectacle of an Ecumenical Council assembled for the pur- 
pose of deliberately decreeing that the occupant of the papal 
throne, the man of sin, possesses this prerogative of God, and 
cannot err. Can anything be more presumptuous and blas- 
phemous ? Is not this the voice of the great words which the 
horn spake ? and is not this power ripe for the burning flame, 
and near its end ? 

Verse 13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son 
of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of 
days, and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was giviMi 
him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and 
languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be 
destroyed. 

The scene here described is not the second advent of Christ 
to this earth, unless the Ancient of days is on this earth; for 
it is a coming to the Ancient of days. There, in the presence 
of the Ancient of days, a kingdom, dominion, and glory are 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 13-18. 123 

given him. The Son of man receives his kingdom before his 
return to this earth. (See Luke 19 : 10-12 and onward.) This 
is a scene, therefore, which transpires in the heavenly temple, 
and is closely connected with that brought to view in verses 9 
and 10. He receives the kingdom at the close of his priestly 
work in the sanctuary. The people, nations, and languages, 
that shall serve him, are the nations of the saved (Rev. 21 : 24), 
not the wicked nations of the earth; for these are dashed in 
pieces at the second advent. Some out of all the nations, 
tribes, and kindreds of the earth will find themselves at last in 
the kingdom of God, to serve him there with joy and gladness 
forever and ever. 

Verse 15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, 
and the visions of my head troubled me. 16. I came near unto one of 
them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, 
and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17. These great 
beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 
18. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom,' and possess 
the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. 

No less anxious should we be than was Daniel to under- 
stand the truth of all this. And whenever we inquire with 
equal sincerity of heart, we shall find the Lord no less ready 
now than in the days of the prophet to lead to a correct 
knowledge of these important truths. The beasts, and the 
kingdoms which they represent, have already been explained. 
We have followed the prophet down through the course of 
events, even to the complete destruction of the fourth and last 
beast, the final subversion of all earthly governments. What 
next 1 Yerse 18 tells us : " The saints shall take the kingdom. ' ' 
The saints ! those of all others held in low esteem in this world, 
despised, reproached, persecuted, cast out ; those who were 
considered the least likely of all men ever to realize their 
hopes ; these shall take the kingdom, and possess it forever. 
The usurpation and misrule of the wicked shall come to an 
end. The forfeited inheritance shall be redeemed. Peace 
shall be restored to its distracted borders, and righteousness 
shall reign over all the fair expanse of the renovated earth. 



124 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Verse 19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which 
was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were 
of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and 
stamped the residue with his feet ; 20. And of the ten horns that were 
in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three 
fell ; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great 
things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 

Of the first three beasts of this series, Daniel had so clear 
an understanding that he had no trouble in reference to them. 
But he was astonished at this fourth beast, so unnatural and 
dreadful; for the further we come down the stream of time, 
the further it is necessary to depart from nature in forming 
symbols to represent accurately the degenerating governments 
of this earth. The lion is a production of nature; but it must 
have the unnatural addition of two wings to represent the 
kingdom of Babylon. The bear we also find in nature; but 
as a symbol of Medo-Persia an unnatural ferocity must be 
denoted by. the insertion of three ribs into its mouth. So the 
leopard is a beast of nature; but fitly to represent Grecia there 
is a departure from nature in respect to wings, and the number 
of heads. But nature furnishes no symbol which can fitly 
illustrate the fourth kingdom. A beast the likeness of which 
never was seen, is taken; a beast dreadful and terrible, with 
nails of brass, and teeth of iron, so cruel, rapacious, and fierce, 
that from mere love of oppression it devoured, and brake in 
pieces, and trampled its victims beneath its feet. 

Wonderful was all this to the prophet; but something still 
more wonderful appeared. A little horn came up, and, true to 
the nature of the beast from which it sprang, thrust aside 
three of its fellows; and lo ! the horn had eyes, not the uncul- 
tivated eyes of a brute, but the keen, shrewd, intelligent eyes 
of a man; and, stranger yet, it had a mouth, and with that 
mouth it uttered proud sayings, and put forth preposterous 
and arrogant claims. No wonder the prophet made special 
inquiry respecting this monster, so unearthly in its instincts, 
and so fiendish in its works and ways. In the following verses 
some specifications are given respecting the little horn, which 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 19-22. 125 

enable the student of prophecy to make an application of this 
symbol without danger of mistake. 

Verse 21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, 
and prevailed against them ; 22. Until the Ancient of days came, and 
judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came 
that the saints possessed the kingdom. 

The wonderful wrath of this little horn against the saints 
particularly attracted the attention of Daniel. The rise of the 
ten horns, or the division of Rome into ten kingdoms, between 
the years A. d. 351 and 483, has already been noticed. (See on 
chapter 2 : 41.) As these horns denote kingdoms, the little horn 
must denote a kingdom also, but not of the same nature, be- 
cause it was diverse from the others. They were political king- 
doms. And now we have but to inquire if any kingdom has 
arisen among the ten kingdoms of the Roman empire since 
A. D. 483, and yet diverse from them all; and if so, what one. 
The answer is. Yes ; the spiritual kingdom of the papacy. 
This answers to the symbol in every particular, as is easily 
proved ; and nothing else will do it. See the specifications 
more particularly mentioned on verse 23. 

Daniel beheld this horn making war upon the saints. Has 
such a war been waged by the papacy? Fifty million mar- 
tyrs, with a voice like the sound of many waters, answer. Yes. 
Witness the cruel persecutions of the Waldenses, the Albigen- 
ses, and Protestants in general, by the papal power. It is 
stated on good authority that the persecutions, massacres, and 
religious wars excited by the church and bishop of Rome, have 
occasioned the shedding of far more blood of the saints of the 
Most High, than all the enmity, hostility, and persecutions of 
professed heathens from the foundation of the world. 

In verse 22 three consecutive events seem to be brought to 
view. Daniel, looking onward from the time when the little 
horn was in the hight of its power, to the full end of the long 
contest between the saints and Satan with all his agents, notes 
three prominent events that stand as mile-posts along the way. 



126 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

(1) The coming of the Ancient of days ; that is, the position 
which Jehovah takes in the opening of the judgment scene 
described in verses 9, 10. (2) The judgment that is given to 
the saints; that is, the time when the saints sit with Christ in 
judgment a thousand years, following the first resurrection 
(Rev. 20 : 1-4), apportioning to the wicked the punishment 
due to their sins. Then the martyrs will sit in judgment 
upon the great anti-Christian, persecuting power, which, in the 
days of their trial, hunted them like the beasts of the desert, 
and poured out their blood like water. (3) The time that the 
saints possess the kingdom; that is, the time of their entrance 
upon the possession of the new earth. Then the last vestige 
of the curse, of sin, and of sinners, root and branch, will 
have been wiped away, and the territory so long misruled 
by the wicked powers of earth, the enemies of God's people, 
will be taken by the righteous, to be held by them forever 
and ever. 1 Cor. 6 : 2, 3 ; Matt. 25 : 3-1. 

Verse 23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kino^ 
dom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall 
devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 
24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise ; 
and another shall rise after them ; and he shall be diverse from the first, 
and he shall subdue three kings. 25. And he shall speak great words against 
the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think 
to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until 
a time and times and the dividing of time. 26. But the judgment shall 
sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it 
unto the end. 

We have here further particulars respecting the fourth 
beast and the little horn. 

Perhaps enough has already been said respecting the fourth 
beast (Rome ) and the ten horns, or ten kingdoms, which arose 
therefrom. The little horn now more particularly demands 
attention. As stated on verse 8, we find the fulfilment of the 
prophecy concerning this horn in the rise and work of the pa- 
pacy. It is a matter of both interest and importance, there- 
fore, to inquire into the causes which resulted in the develop- 
ment of this anti-Christian j)0wer. 



CHAPTER?, VERSES 23-26. 127 

The first pastors or bishops of Rome enjoyed a respect pro- 
portionate to the rank of the city in which they resided; and 
for the first few centuries of the Christian era, Eome was the 
largest, richest, and most powerful city in the world. It was 
the seat of empire, the capital of the nations. ' ' All the in- 
habitants of the earth belong to her," said Julian; and Clau- 
dian declared her to be "the fountain of laws." " If Rome is 
the queen of cities, why should not her pastor be the king of 
bishops ? ' ' was the reasoning these Roman pastors adopted. 
' ' Why should not the Roman Church be the mother of Chris- 
tendom ? Why should not all nations be her children, and her 
authority their sovereign law? It was easy," says D'Aubigne, 
from whom we quote these words (History of the Reformation, 
Yol. I, chap. 1), <'for the ambitious heart of man to reason 
thus. Ambitious Rome did so." 

The bishops in the different parts of the Roman empire felt 
a pleasure in yielding to the bishop of Rome some portion of 
that honor which Rome, as the queen city, received from the 
nations of the earth. There was originally no dependence im- 
plied in the honor thus paid. "But," continues D'Aubigne, 
' ' usurped power increases like an avalanche. Admonitions, at 
first simply fraternal, soon became absolute commands in the 
mouth of the pontiff. The Western bishops favored this en- 
croachment of the Roman pastors, either from jealousy of the 
Eastern bishops, or because they preferred submitting to the 
supremacy of a pope rather than to the dominion of a temporal 
power." 

Such were the influences clustering around the bishop of 
Rome, and thus was everything tending toward his speedy ele- 
vation to the supreme spiritual throne of Christendom. But 
the fourth century was destined to witness an obstacle thrown 
across the path of this ambitious dream. Arius, parish priest 
of the ancient and influential church of Alexandria, sprung his 
doctrine upon the world, occasioning so fierce a controversy in 
the Christian church that a general council was called at 
Mcaea, by the emperor Constantine, a. d. 325, to consider and 
adjust it. Arius maintained "that the Son was totally and 



128 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

essentially distinct from the Father ; that he was the first 
and noblest of those beings whom the Father had created out 
of nothing, the instrument by whose subordinate operation the 
Almighty Father formed the universe, and therefore inferior to 
the Father both in nature and dignity." This opinion was 
condemned by the council, which decreed that Christ was of 
one and the same substance with the Father. Hereupon Arius 
was banished to Illyria, and his followers were compelled to 
give their assent to the creed composed on that occasion. 
(Mosheim, cent. 4, part 2, chap. 4. ; Stanley, History of the 
Eastern Church, p. 239.) 

The controversy itself, however, was not to be disposed of 
in this summary manner, but continued for ages to agitate the 
Chl'istian world, the Arians everywhere becoming the bitter 
enemies of the pope and of the Roman Catholic Church. 
From these facts it is evident that the spread of Arianism would 
check the influence of the Catholics ; and the possession of Rome 
and Italy by a people of the Arian persuasion, would be fatal 
to the supremacy of a Catholic bishop. But the prophecy had 
declared that this horn would rise to supreme power, and tliat 
in reaching this position it would subdue three kings. 

Some difference of opinion has existed in regard to the par- 
ticular powers which were overthrown in the interest of the 
papacy, in reference to which the following remark by Albert 
Barnes seems very pertinent: " In the confusion that existed 
on the breaking up of the Roman empire, and the imperfect 
accounts of the transactions which occurred in the rise of the 
papal power, it would not be wonderful if it should be difficult 
to find events distinctly recorded that would be in all respects 
an accurate and absolute fulfilment of the vision. Yet it is 
possible to make out the fulfilment of this with a good degree 
of certainty in the history of the papacy.'' — Xotes on Daniel 7. 

Mr. Mede supposes the three kingdoms plucked up to liave 
been the Greeks, the Lombards, and the Franks; and Sir Isaac 
Newton supposes they were the Exarchate of Ravenna, the 
Lombards, and the Senate and i)uke(h)m of Rome. Bishop 
Newton (Dissertation on the Prophecies, pp. 217, 218) states 



CHAPTFR 7, VERSES 23-26. 129 

some serious objections to both these schemes. The Franks 
could not have been one of these kingdoms ; for they were 
never plucked up before the papacy. The Lombards could 
not have been one ; for they were never made subject to 
the popes. Says Barnes, ' ' I do not find, indeed, that the 
kingdom of the Lombards was, as is commonly stated, among 
the number of the temporal sovereignties that became subject 
to the authority of the popes." And the Senate and Dukedom 
of Eome could not have been one ; for they, as such, never 
constituted one of the ten kingdoms, three of which were to be 
plucked up before the little horn. 

But we apprehend that the chief difficulty in the applica- 
tion made by these eminent commentators, lay in the fact that 
they supposed that the prophecy respecting the exaltation of the 
papacy had not been fulfilled, and could not have been, till the 
pope became a temporal prince; and hence they sought to find 
an accomplishment of the prophecy in the events which led to 
the pope's temporal sovereignty. Whereas, evidently, the 
prophecy of verses 2tt, 25 refers, not to his civil power, but to 
his power to domineer over the minds and consciences of men; 
and the pope reached this position, as will hereafter appear, in 
A. D. 538; and the plucking up of the three horns took 
place before this, and to make way for this very exaltation to 
spiritual dominion. The insuperable difficulty in the way of 
all attempts to apply the prophecy to the Lombards and the 
other powers named above is, that they may come altogether too 
late in point of time; for the prophecy deals with the arrogant 
efforts of the Roman pontiff to gain power, not with his en- 
deavors to oppress and humble the nations after he had secured 
the supremacy. 

The position is here confidently taken that the three pow- 
ers, or horns, plucked up before the papacy, were the Heruli, 
the Yandals, and the Ostrogoths; and this position rests upon 
the following statements of historians. 

Odoacer, the leader of the Heruli, was the first of the bar- 
barians who reigned over the Romans. He took the throne of 
Italy, according to Gibbon (Decline and Fall of the Roman 



130 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Empire, Yol. Ill, pp. 510, 515), in 476. Of his religious 
belief Gibbon (p. 516) says; "Like the rest of the barbarians, 
he had been instructed in the Arian heresy; but he revered the 
monastic and episcopal characters, and the silence of the Cath- 
olics attests the toleration which they enjoyed." 

Again he says (p. 5-17): "The Ostrogoths, the Burgundians, 
the Suevi, and the Yandals, who had listened to the eloquence 
of the Latin clergy, preferred the more intelligible lessons of 
their domestic teachers; and Arianism was adopted as the na- 
tional faith of the warlike converts who were seated on the 
ruins of the Western empire. This irreconcilable difference of 
religion was a perpetual source of jealousy and hatred; and 
the reproach of harbarian was embittered by the more odious 
epithet of heretic. The heroes of the North, who had sub- 
mitted, with some reluctance, to believe that all their ancestors 
were in hell, were astonished and exasperated to learn that 
they themselves had only changed the mode of their eternal 
condemnation." 

The reader is requested to consider carefully a few more 
historical statements which throw some light on the situation 
at this time. Stanley (History of the Eastern Church, p. 151) 
says: "The whole of the vast Gothic population which de- 
scended on the Roman empire, so far as it was Christian at all, 
held to the faith of the Alexandrian heretic. Our jBrst Teu- 
tonic version of the Scriptures was by an Arian missionary, 
Ulfilas. The first conqueror of Rome, Alaric, and the first 
conqueror of Africa, Genseric, were Arians. Theodoric, the 
great king of Italy, and hero of the 'JSTibelungen Lied,' was an 
Arian. The vacant place in his massive tomb at Ravenna is a 
witness of the vengeance which the Orthodox took on his 
memory, when, in their triumph, they tore down the porphyry 
vase in which his Arian subjects had enshrined his ashes." 

Ranke, in his History of the Popes (^London, edition of 
1871), Yol. I, p. 9, says: "But she [the church] fell, as was 
inevitable, into many embarrassments, and found herself in an 
entirely altered condition. A pagan people took possession of 
Britain; Arian kings seized the greater part of the remaining- 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 131 

West; while tlie Lombards, long attached to Arianism, and, as 
neighbors, most dangerous and hostile, established a powerful 
sovereignty before the very gates of Rome. The Roman bish- 
ops, meanwhile, beset on all sides, exerted themselves with all 
the prudence and pertinacity which have remained their peculiar 
attributes, to regain the mastery, at least in their patriarchal 
diocese." 

Machiavelli, in his History of Florence, p. 14, says : 
"^N^early all the wars which the northern barbarians carried on 
in Italy, it may be here remarked, were occasioned by the pon- 
tiffs; and the hordes with which the country was inundated, 
were generally called in by them." 

These extract^ give us a general view of the state of affairs 
at this time, and show us that though the hands of the Roman 
pontiffs might not be visibly manifest in the movements upon 
the political board, they constituted the power working assidu- 
ously behind the scenes to secure their own purposes. The 
relation which these Arian kings sustained to the pope, from 
which we can see the necessity of their being overthrown to 
make way for papal supremacy, is shown in the following tes- 
timony from Mosheim, given in his History of the Church, 
cent. 6, part 2, chap. 2, sec. 2: — 

"On the other hand, it is certain, from a variety of the 
most authentic records, that both the emperors and the nations 
in general were far from being disposed to bear with patience 
the yoke of servitude which the popes were imposing upon the 
Christian church. The Gothic princes set bounds to the power 
of those arrogant prelates in Italy, permitted none to be raised 
to the pontificate without their approbation, and reserved to 
themselves the right of judging of the legality of every new 
election. ' ' 

An instance in proof of this statement occurs in the history 
of Odoacer, the first Arian king above mentioned, as related by 
Bower in his History of the Popes, Yol. I, p. 271. When, on 
the death of Pope Simplicius, a. d. 483, the clergy and people 
had assembled for the election of a new pope, suddenly Basil- 
ius, prsefectus prsetorio, and lieutenant of King Odoacer, ap- 



132 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

peared in the assembly, expressed his surprise that any such 
work as appointing a successor to the deceased pope slioiild be 
undertaken without him, in the name of the king declared all 
that had been done null and void, and ordered the election to 
be begun anew. Certainly the horn which exercised such a 
restrictive power over the papal pontiff must be taken away 
before the pope could reach the predicted supremacy. 

Meanwhile Zeno, the emperor of the East, and friend of 
the pope, was anxious to drive Odoacer out of Italy (Macliia- 
velli, p. 6), a movement which he soon had the satisfaction of 
seeing accomplished without trouble to himself, in the following 
manner. Theodoric had come to the throne of the Ostrogothic 
kingdom in Moesia and Pannonia. Being on friendly terms 
with Zeno, he wrote him, stating that it was impossible for 
him to restrain his Goths within the impoverished province of 
Pannonia, and asking his permission to lead them to some more 
favorable region, which they might conquer and possess. 
Zeno gave him permission to march against Odoacer, and take 
possession of Italy. Accordingly, after a three years' war, the 
Herulian kingdom in Italy was overthrown, Odoacer was 
treacherously slain, and Theodoric established his Ostrogoths in 
the Italian peninsula. As already stated he was an Arian, 
and the law of Odoacer subjecting the election of the pope to 
the approval of the king, was still retained. 

The following incident wdll show how completely the pa- 
pacy was in subjection to his power. The Catholics in the 
East, having commenced a persecution against the Arians in 
523, Theodoric summoned Pope John into his. presence, and 
thus addressed him : ''If the emperor [Justin, the predecessor 
of Justinian] does not think fit to revoke the edict which he has 
lately issued against those of my persuasion [that is, the Arians], 
it is my firm resolution to issue the like edict against those 
of his [that is, the Catholics] ; and to see it everywhere exe- 
cuted with the same rigor. Those who do not profess the faith 
of Nicaea are heretics to him, and those who do are heretics 
to me. Whatever can excuse or justify his severity to tlie 
former, will excuse and justify mine to the hitter. But the 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 133 

emperor," continued the king, ''has none about him who 
dare freely and openly speak what they think, or to whom he 
would hearken if they did. But the great "veneration which 
he ^J>r<9/6S5^.5 for your See^ leaves no room to doubt but he 
would hearken to you. I will therefore have you to repair 
forthwith to Constantinople, and there to remonstrate, both in 
my name and your own, against the violent measures in which 
that court has so rashly engaged. It is in your power to di- 
vert the emperor from them; and till you have, nay, till the 
Catholics [this name Theodoric applies to the Arians] are re- 
stored to the free exercise of their religion, and to all the 
churches from which they have been driven, you must not 
think of returning to Italy." — Bov:er^s History of the Po_pes, 

Vol. 7, p. sm. 

The pope who was thus peremptorily ordered not to set his 
foot again upon Italian soil until he had carried out the will of 
the king, certainly could not hope for much advancement 
toward any kind of supremacy till that power was taken out 
of the way. Baronius, according to Bower, will have it that 
the pope sacrificed himself on this occasion, and advised the 
emperor not by any means to comply with the demand the 
king had sent him. But Mr. Bower thinks this inconsistent, 
since he could not, he says, "sacrifice himself without sacrific- 
ing, at the same time, the far greater part of the innocent 
Catholics in the West, who were either sitbject to King Theod- 
oric^ or to other Avian 2)ri't^ces in alliance vnth him. " It is 
certain that the pope and the other ambassadors were treated 
with severity on their return, which Bower explains on this 
wise : '' Others arraign them all of high treason; and truly the 
chief men of Rome were suspected at this very time of carry- 
ing on a treasonahle correspondence ivith the court of Con- 
staMtinople, and machinating the ndn of the Gothic empire 
in Italy.''— Id., p. 326. 

The feelings of the papal party toward Theodoric may be 
accurately estimated, according to a quotation already given, by 
the vengeance which they took on his memory, when they tore 
from his massive tomb in Bavenna the porphyry vase in which 



134 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

his Arian subjects had enshrined his ashes. But these feelings' 
are put into language by Baronius, who inveighs ' ' against The- 
odoric as a cruel barbarian, as a barbarous tyrant, as an impi- 
ous Arian." But <' having exaggerated with ail his eloquence, 
and bewailed the deplorable condition of the Koman Church 
reduced by that heretic to a state of slavery, he comforts him- 
self in the end, and dries up his tears, with the pious thought 
that the author of such a calamity died soon after, and was 
eternally damned ! " — Baronius' s Annals^ A. D. 526^ jp. 116; 
Bower, Vol. Ill, p. 328. 

While the Catholics were thus feeling the restraining power 
of an Arian king in Italy, they were suffering a violent perse- 
cution from the Arian Yandals in Africa. (Gibbon, chap. 37, 
sec. 2.) Elliott, in his Horse Apocalypticse, Yol. Ill, p. 152, 
note 3, says: ''The Yandal kings were not only Arians, but 
persecutors of the Catholics ; in Sardinia and Corsica, under 
the Roman Episcopate, we may presume, as well as in Africa." 

Such was the position of affairs, when, in 533, Justinian 
entered upon his Yandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to se- 
cure the influence 'of the pope and the Catholic party ^ he issued 
that memorable decree which was to constitute the pope the 
head of all the churches, and from the carrying out of which, 
in 538, the period of papal supremacy is to be dated. And 
whoever will read the history of the African campaign, 533-4, 
and the Italian campaign, 534-8, will notice that the Catholics 
everywhere hailed as deliverers the army of Belisarius, the gen- 
eral of Justinian. 

The testimony of D'Aubigne (Reformation, book 1, chap. 
1), also throws light upon the undercurrents which gave shape 
to outward movements in these eventful times. He says : 
''Princes whom these stormy times often shook upon their 
thrones, offered their protection if Rome would in its turn suj)- 
port them. They conceded to her the spiritual authority, pro- 
vided she would make a return in secular power. They were 
lavish of the souls of men, in the hope that she would aid them 
against their enemies. The power of the hierarchy, which 
was ascending, and the imperial power, whicjj was declining, 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 135 

leaned thus one upon the other, and by this alliance acceler- 
ated their twofold destiny. Rome could not lose bj it. An 
edict of Theodosius II and of Yalentinian III proclaimed the 
Roman bishop ' rector of the whole church. ' Justinian pub- 
lished a similar decree." 

But no decree of this nature could be carried into effect 
until the Arian horns which stood in its way, were plucked 
up. The Yandals fell before the victorious arms of Belisarius 
in 534; and the Goths, retiring, left him in undisputed posses- 
sion of Rome in 538. (Gibbon's Rome, chap 41.) 

Procopius relates that the African war was undertaken by 
Justinian for the relief of the Christians (Catholics) in that 
quarter; and that when he expressed his intention in this re- 
spect, the prefect of the palace came very near dissuading him 
from his purpose; but a dream appeared to him in which he 
was bidden ' ' not to shrink from the execution of his design ; 
for by assisting the Christians he would overthrow the power 
of the Yandals." — Evagrius''s Ecclesiastical History, ^ook ^ 
chap. 16. 

Listen again to Mosheim : " It is true that the Greeks who 
had received the decrees of the Council of Nicsea [that is, the 
Catholics], persecuted and oppressed the Arians wherever their 
influence and authority could reach; but the Nicenians, in 
their turn, were not less rigorously treated by their adversa- 
ries [the Arians], particularly in Africa and Italy, where they 
felt, in a very severe manner, the weight of the Arian power, 
and the bitterness of hostile resentment. The triumphs of 
Arianism were, however, transitory, and its prosperous days 
were entirely eclipsed when the Yandals were driven out of 
Africa, and the Goths out of Italy, by the arms of Justinian." 
— Mosheim'' s Church History, cent. 6, part ^, chap. 5, sec. 3. 

Elliott, in his Horse Apocalypticse, makes two enumerations 
of the ten kingdoms which rose out of the Roman empire, vary- 
ing the second list from the first according to the changes 
which had taken place at the later period to which the second 
list applies. His fii'st list differs from that mentioned in re- 
marks on chap. 2: 42, only in that he put the AUemanni in place 
U 



136 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

of the Huns, and the Bavarians in place of the Lombards, a 
variation which can be easily accounted for. But out of this 
list he names the three that were plucked up before the papacy, 
in these words: '' I might cite three that were eradicated from 
before the pope out of the list first given; namely, the Ilendi 
under Odoacer, the Vandals^ and the Ostrogotlisy — Yol. II I ^ 
p. 15^^ note 1. 

Although he prefers the second list, in which he puts the 
Lombards instead of the Heruli, the foregoing is good testi- 
mony that if we make the enumeration of the ten kingdoms 
while the Heruli were a ruling power, they were one of the 
horns which were plucked up. 

From the historical testimony above cited, we think it 
clearly established that the three horns plucked up were the 
powers named; viz., the Heruli in a. d. 493, the Yandals in 
534, and the Ostrogoths in 538. 

1. ''He shall speak great words against the Most High." 
Has the papacy done this? Look at a few of the pope's 
self - accepted titles : " Vicegerent of the Son of God," " Our 
Lord God, the Pope," " Another God upon earth," ''King of 
the world," "King of kings and Lord of lords." Said Pope 
Nicholas to Emperor Michael, "The pope, who is called 
God by Constantine, can never be bound or released by man; 
for God cannot be judged by man." Is there need of bolder 
blasphemy than this ? Listen also to the adulation the popes 
have received from their followers without rebuke. A Vene- 
tian prelate in the fourth session of the Lateran, addressed the 
pope as follows : "Thou art our Shepherd, our Physician, in 
short, a second God upon earth." Another bishop called him 
" the lion of the tribe of Judah, the promised Saviour." Lord 
Anthony Pucci, in the fifth Lateran, said to the pope, "The 
sight of thy divine majesty does not a little terrify me; for I 
am not ignorant that all power both in heaven and in earth is 
given unto you; that the prophetic saying is fulfilled in you, 
'AH the kings of the eaith shall worship him, and nations shall 
serve him.'" (See Oswald's Kingdom Which Shall Not be 
Destroyed, pp. 97-99.) Again, Dr. Clarke, in verse 25, says: 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 137 

" ' He shall speak as if he were God.' So St. Jerome quotes 
from Symmachus. To none can this apply so well or so fully 
as to the popes of Kome. They have assumed infallibility, 
which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive sins, 
which belongs only to God. They profess to open and shut 
heaven, which belongs only to God. They profess to be higher 
than all the kings of the earth, which belongs only to God. 
And they go heyond God in pretending to loose whole nations 
from their oath of allegiance to their kings, when such kings 
do not please them. And they go against God when they 
give indulgences for sin. This is the worst of all blasphemies. " 

2. <'And shall wear out the saints of the Most High." 
Has the papacy done this ? For the mere information of any 
student of church history, no answer need here be given. All 
know that for long years the papal church has pursued its re- 
lentless work against the true followers of God. Chapter after 
chapter might be given, would our limited space permit. 
Wars, crusades, massacres, inquisitions, and persecutions of all 
kinds, — these were their weapons of extinction. 

Scoft's Church History says : "No computation can reach 
the numbers who have been put to death, in different ways, 
on account of their maintaining the profession of the gospel, 
and opposing the corruptions of the Church of Kome. A mil- 
lion of poor Waldenses perished in France ; nine Kimdred 
thousand orthodox Christians were slain in less than thirty 
years after the institution of the order of the Jesuits. The 
Duke of Alva boasted of having put to death in the Nether- 
lands thirty-six thousand by the hand of the common execu- 
tioner during the space of a few years. The Inquisition 
destroyed, by various tortures, one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand within thirty years. These are a few specimens, and 
but a few, of those which history has recorded. But the 
total amount will never be known till the earth shall disclose 
her blood, and no more cover her slain." 

Commenting on the prophecy that the little horn should 
"wear out the saints of the Most High," Barnes, in his Notes 
on Dan. 7 : 25, says ; " Can any one doubt that this is true of 



138 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

the papacy? Tlie Inquisition, the persecutions of the Wal- 
denses, the ravages of the Duke of Alva, the fires of Smith- 
field, the tortures at Goa, — indeed, the whole history of the 
papacy may be appealed to in proof that this is applicable to 
that power. If anything could have worn out the saints of 
the Most High, — could have cut them olf from the earth so 
that evangelical religion would have become extinct, — it would 
have been the persecutions of the papal power. In the year 
1208 a crusade was proclaimed by Pope Innocent HI against 
the Waldenses and Albigenses, in which a million men per- 
ished. From the beginning of the order of Jesuits in the 
year 1540 to 1580, nine hundred thousand were destroyed. 
One hundred and fifty thousand perished by the Inquisition in 
thirty years. In the Low Countries fifty thousand persons were 
hanged, beheaded, burned, and buried alive, for the crime of 
heresy, within the space of thirty-eight years from the edict of 
Charles Y against the Protestants to the peace of Chateau 
Cambresis in 1559. Eighteen thousand sufl'ered by the hand 
of the executioner in the space of five years and a half, during 
the administration of the Duke of Alva. Indeed, the' slight- 
est acquaintance with the history of the papacy will convince 
any one that what is here said of ' making war with the saints ' 
( verse 21 ), and ' wearing out the saints of the Most High ' 
(verse 25), is strictly applicable to that power, and will accu- 
rately describe its history." (See Buck's Theological Diction- 
ary, art., Persecutions; Oswald's Kingdom, etc., pp. 107-133; 
Dowling's History of Komanism; Fox's Book of Martyrs; 
Charlotte Elizabeth's Martyrology; The Wars of the Hugue- 
nots; The Great Ked Dragon, by Anthony Gavin, formerly 
one of the Roman Catholic priests of Saragossa, Spain; His- 
tories of the Reformation, etc.) 

To parry the force of this damaging testimony from all his- 
tory, papists deny that the church has ever persecuted any one; 
it has been the secular power; the church has only passed 
decision upon the question of heresy, and then turned the 
offenders over to the civil power, to be dealt with according to 
the pleasure of the secular court. The impious hypocrisy of 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 139 

this claim is transparent enough to make it an absolute insult 
to common sense. In those days of persecution, what was 
the secular power ? — Simply a tool in the hand of the church, 
and under its control, to do its bloody bidding. And when 
the church delivered its prisoners to the executioners to be 
destroyed, with fiendish mockery it made use of the following 
formula : ' < And we do leave thee to the secular arm, and to 
the power of the secular court; but at the same time do most 
earnestly beseech that court so to moderate its sentence as not 
to touch thy blood, nor to put thy life in any sort of danger." 
And then, as intended, the unfortunate victims of popish hate 
were immediately executed. (Geddes's Tracts on Popery; 
Yiew of the Court of Inquisition in Portugal, p. 446; Lim- 
borch, Yol. II, p. 289.) 

But the false claims of papists in this respect have been 
flatly denied and disproved by one of their own standard wri- 
ters. Cardinal Bellarmine, who was born in Tuscany in 1542, 
and who, after his death in 1621, came very near being placed 
in the calendar of saints on account of his great services in 
behalf of popery. This man, on one occasion, under the spur 
of controversy, betrayed himself into an admission of the real 
facts in the case. Luther having said that the church (mean- 
ing the true church) never^ burned heretics, Bellarmine, un- 
derstanding it of the Komish Church, made answer: "This 
argument proves not the sentiment, but the ignorance or im- 
pudence of Luther; for as almost an infinite nmnber were 
either burned or otherwise put to death, Luther either did not 
know it, and was therefore ignorant; or if he knew it, he was 
convicted of impudence and falsehood; for that heretics were 
often burned hy the church, may be proved by adducing a few 
from many examples." 

To show the relation of the secular power to the church, as 
held by Pomanists, we quote the answer of the same writer to 
the argument that the only weapon committed to the church 
is ' ' the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ' ' To 
this he replied : * ' As the church has ecclesiastical and secular 
princes, who are her two arms^ so she has two swords, the 



140 PROPHECY OF DAMKL. 

spiritual and material; and therefore when lier ri^ht hand is 
unable to convert a heretic with the sword of the Spirit, she 
invokes the aid of the left hand, and coerces Iirretlcs with the 
material sword." In answer to the argument tliat the apostles 
never invoked the secular arm again st heretics, he says, '<The 
apostles did it not, because there was no Christian prince whom 
they could call on for aid. But afterward, in Constantine's 
time, . . . the church called in the aid of the secular arm. ' ' 
— Dowling^s History of Romanism,^ jpjp. 6Jf7^ 5Jf8, 

In corroboration of these facts, fifty million martyrs — 
this is the lowest computation made by any historian — will 
rise up in the judgment as witnesses against her bloody 
work. 

Pagan Home persecuted rdentlessly the Christian church, 
and it is estimated that three rti'dllon Christians perished in 
the first three centuries, yet it is said that the primitive Chris- 
tiins prayed for the continuance of imperial Rome; for they 
knew that when this form of government should cease, another 
far worse persecuting power would arise, which would literally, 
as this prophecy declares, "wear out the saints of the Most 
High." Pagan Rome could slay the infants, but spare the 
mothers; but papal Rome slew both mothers and infants 
together. No age, no sex, no condition in life, was exempt 
from her relentless rage. '' When Ilerod died, " says a forcible 
writer, "he went down to the grave with infamy; and earth 
had one murderer, one persecutor, less, and hell one victim 
more. O Rome ! what will not be thy hell, and that of thy 
votaries, when thy judgment shall have come !" 

3. And shall "think to change times and laws." What 
laws? and whose ? Not the laws of other earthly governments; 
for it was nothing marvelous or strange for one power to 
change the laws of another, whenever it could bring such 
power under its dominion. Not human laws of any kind ; for 
the little horn had power to change these so far as its jurisdic- 
tion extended; but the times and laws in question were such 
as this power should only think to change, but not bo able to 
change. They are the laws of the same Being to whom the 



CHAPTER 7, VERSES 23-26. 141 

saints belong who are worn out by this power; namely, the 
laws of the Most Higli. And has the papacy attempted this ? 
— Yes, even this. It has, in its catechisms, expunged the 
second commandment of the decalogue to make way for its 
adoration of images. It has divided the tenth commandment 
to make up the number ten. And, more audacious than all ! 
it has taken hold of the fourth commandment, torn from its 
place the Sabbath of Jehovah, the only memorial of the great 
God ever given to man, and erected in its place a rival insti- 
tution to serve another purpose.^ 

4. ' ' And they shall be given into his hand until a time and 
times and the dividing of time. ' ' The pronoun they embraces 
the saints, the times, and the laws, just mentioned. How long 
a time were they to be given into the hands of this power ? A 
time, as we hai^e seen from chapter 4:23, is one year; two 
times, the least that could be denoted by the plural, two years, 
and the dividing of time, or half a time (Sept., fji.uov',) half a 
year. Gesenius also gives " -^7?, Chald., a half. Dan. 7 : 25." 
We thus have three years and a half for the continuance of 
this power. The Hebrew, or rather the Chaldaic, word for time 
in the text before us, is j"!;^, idddoi^ which Gesenius defines 
thus: '•^ Time. Spec, in prophetic language for a ^/^^(r/?'. Dan. 
7:25, |'n;ir jSs^ j'^^Ji'l Hi^""'^ for a year, also two years, and 
half Q' year J i. <?., for three years and a half; comp. Jos. B. J. 
1. 1. 1." We must now consider that we are in the midst of 
symbolic prophecy; hence in this measurement the time is not 
literal, but symbolic also. The inquiry then arises. How long 
a period is denoted by the three years and a half of prophetic 
time ? The rule given us in the Bible is, that when a day is 
used as a symbol, it stands for a year. Eze. 4: 6; Num. 14 : 34. 
Under the Hebrew word for day, or {yom), Gesenius has this 
remark: " 3. Sometimes D'p^ [yamiin] marks a definite space 
of time; viz., a year ; as also Syr. and Chald. p,V. \idddn^ 
denotes both time and year ; and as in English several words 



1 See Catholic catechisms, and the Avork entitled, Who Changed the Sabbath ? 
and works on t'he Sabbath and Law, published at the office of the Review and 
Herald, Battle Creek, Mich. 



142 PROPHECY 0B\ DANIEL. 

signifying time, weight, measure, are likewise used to denote 
certain specific times, weights, and measures." The ordinary 
Jewish year, which must be used as the basis of reckoning, 
contained three hundred and sixty days. Three years and 
a half contained twelve hundred and sixty days. As each 
day stands for a year, we have twelve hundred and sixty 
years for the continuation of the supremacy of this horn. Did 
the papacy possess dominion that length of time ? The answer 
again is. Yes. The edict of the emperor Justinian, dated a. d. 
533, made the bishop of Eome tlie head of all the churches. 
But this edict could not go into effect until the Arian Ostro- 
goths, the last of the three horns that were plucked up to make 
room for the papacy, were driven from Kome; and this was not 
accomplished, as already shown, till a. d. 538. The edict 
would have been of no effect had this latter event not been 
accomplished; hence from this latter year we are to reckon, 
as this was the earliest point where the saints were in reality 
in the hand of this power. From this point did the papacy 
hold supremacy for twelve hundred and sixty years ? — 
Exactly. For 538 + 1260 = 1798; and in the year 1798, 
Berthier, with a French army, entered Rome, proclaimed a re- 
public, took the pope prisoner, and for a time abolished the 
papacy. It has never since enjoyed the privileges and immu- 
nities which it possessed before. Thus again this power fulfils 
to the very letter the specifications of the prophecy, which 
proves beyond question that the application is correct. 

After describing the terrible career of the little horn, and 
stating that the saints should be given into his hand for 1260 
years, bringing us down to 1798, verse 20 declares : ''But the 
judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to 
consume and to destroy it unto the end." In verse 10 of the 
same chapter we have substantially the same expression relative 
to the judgment: ''The judgment was set." It would seem 
consistent to suppose that the same judgment is referred to in 
both instances. But the sublime scene described in verse 10, 
is the opening of the investigative Judgment in the sanctuary 
in heaven, as will appear in remarks on Dan. 8 : 14 and 9 : 25- 



CHAPTER r, VERSES 27, 28. 148 

27. The opening of this judgment scene is located by the 
prophecy at the close of the great prophetic period of 2300 
years, which terminated in 18^4. (See under chapter 9 : 25- 
27.) Four years after this, in 1848, the great revolution which 
shook so many thrones in Europe, drove the pope also from his 
dominions. His restoration shortly after was through the force 
of foreign bayonets, by which alone he was upheld till his final 
loss of temporal power in 1870. The overthrow of the papacy 
in 1798, marked the conclusion of the prophetic period of 1260 
years, and constituted the "deadly wound" prophesied in 
Rev. 13 : 3, to come upon this power ; but this deadly wound 
was to be "healed." In 1800 another pope was elected; his 
palace and temporal dominion were restored, and every pre- 
rogative except, as Mr. Croly says, that of a systematic perse- 
cutor, was again under his control; and thus the wound was 
healed. But since 1870, he has enjoyed no prestige as a 
temporal prince, among the nations of the earth. 

Terse 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven, sliall be given to the people of the 
saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and 
all dominions shall serve and obej^ him. 28. Hitherto is the end of the 
matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my 
countenance changed in me : but I kept the matter in my heart. 

After beholding the dark and desolate picture of papal 
oppression upon the church, the prophet is permitted once 
more to turn his eyes upon the glorious period of the saints' 
rest, when they shall have the kingdom, free fi-om all oppress- 
ive powers, in everlasting possession. How could the children 
of God keep heart in this present evil world, amid the misrule 
and oppression of the governments of earth, and the abomina- 
tions that are done in the land, if they could not look forward 
to the kingdom of God and the return of then- Lord, with full 
assurance that the promises concerning them both shall cer- 
tainly be fulfilled, and that speedily ? 



144 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Note. — Some startling events relative to the papacy, filling up thn 
prophecies uttered in this chapter concerning that power, have taken 
place w^ithin a few years of the present time. Commencing in 1798, 
where the first great blow fell upon the papacy, what have been the chief 
characteristics of its history? Answer: The rapid defection of its 
natural supporters, and greater assumptions on its own part. In 1844, 
the judgment of verse 10 began to sit; namely, the investigative Judg- 
ment, in the heavenly sanctuary, preparatory to the coming of Christ. 
Dec. 8, 1854, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was decreed by 
the pope. July 21, 1870, in the great Ecumenical Council assembled at 
Rome, it was deliberately decreed, by a vote of 538 against 2, that the 
pope was infallible. In the same year, France, by whose bayonets the 
pope was kept upon his throne, was crushed by Prussia, and the last prop 
was taken from under the papacy. Then Victor Emmanuel, seeing his 
opportunity to carry out the long-cherished dream of a united Italy, 
seized Rome to make it the capital of his kingdom. To his troops, under 
General Cadorna, Rome surrendered, Sept. 20, 1870. The pope's temporal 
power was thus wholly taken away, nevermore, said Victor Emmanuel, 
to be restored; and since that time, the popes, shutting themselves up in 
the Vatican, have styled themselves "prisoners." Because of the great 
words which the horn uttered, Daniel saw the beast destroyed, and given 
to the burning flame. This destruction is to take place at the second 
coming of Christ and by means of that event ; for the man of sin is to be 
consumed by the spirit of Christ's mouth, and destroyed by the bright- 
ness of his coming. 2 Thess. 2 : 8. What words could be more arrogant, 
presumptuous, blasphemous, or insulting to high Heaven, than the de- 
liberate adoption of the dogma of infallibility, thus clothing a mortal 
man with a prerogative of the Deity? And this was accomplished by 
papal intrigue and influence, July 21, 1870. Following in swift succes- 
sion, the last vestige of temporal power was wrenched from his grasp. It 
was because of these words, and as if in almost immediate connection 
with them, that the prophet saw this power given to the burning flame. 
His dominion was to be consumed unto the end, implying that when his 
power as a civil ruler should be wholly destroyed, the end would not be 
far off. And the prophet immediately adds: "And the kingdom and 
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, 
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." All, in 
this line of prophecy, has now been fully accomplished except the closing 
scene. Next comes the last, crowning act in the drama, when the beast 
will be given to the burning flame, and the saints of the Most High take 
the kingdom. We must be, now, upon the very threshold of this glorious 
event. 



Cbdpter 




v^,, ^ ,.jE now come once more," says Dr. Clarke, ''to the 
ft Mebrew, the Chaldee part of the book being finished. 
'^ As the Chaldeans had a particular interest both in 
the history and the jpro^hecies from chapter 2 : 4 to the end 
of chapter 7, the whole is written in Clialdee ; but as the 
prophecies which remain concern times posterior to the Chal- 
dean monarchy, andv principally relate to the church and jpeojple 
of God generally^ they are written in the Hebrew language, this 
being the tongue in which God chose to reveal all his counsels 
given under the Old Testament relative to the New^ 

Verse 1. In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision 
appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto 
me at the first. 

One prominent characteristic of the sacred writings, and 
one which should forever shield them from the charge of being 
works of fiction, is the frankness and freedom with which the 
writers state all the circumstances connected with that which 
they record. This verse states the time when the vision 
recorded in this chapter was given to Daniel. The first year 
of Belshazzar was b. c. 540. His third year, in which this 
vision was given, would consequently be 538. If Daniel, as 
is supposed, was about twenty years of age when he was carried 
to Babylon in the first year of J^ebuchadnezzar, b. c. 606, he 
was at this time about eighty-eight years of age. The vision 

[145] 



146 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

he speaks of as the one ''which appeared unto him at the 
first," is doubtless the vision of the seventh chapter, which he 
had in the first year of Belshazzar. 

Verse 2. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, 
that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam ; 
and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. 

As verse 1 states the time when, this verse gives the place 
where, the vision was given. Shushan, as we learn from 
Prideaux, was the metropolis of the province of Elam. This 
was then in the hands of the Babylonians, and there the king 
of Babylon had a royal palace. Daniel, as minister of state, 
and employed about the king's business, was accordingly in 
that place. Abradates, viceroy or prince of Shushan, revolted 
to Cyrus, and the province was joined to the Medes and 
Persians; so that, according to the prophecy of Isaiah (21 : 2), 
Elam went up with the Medes to besiege Babylon. Under the 
Medes and Persians it regained its liberties, of which it had 
been deprived by the Babylonians, according to the prophecy of 
Jeremiah, chapter tl:9 : 39. 

Yerse 3. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there 
stood before the river a ram which had two horns ; and the two horns 
were high ; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up 
last. 4. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and south- 
ward ; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any 
that could deliver out of his hand ; but he did according to hft will, 
and became great. 

In verse 20 an interpretation of this symbol is given us in 
plain language: ''The ram which thou sawest, having two 
horns, are the kings of Media and Persia." We have only, 
therefore, to consider how well the symbol answers to the 
power in question. The two horns represented the two nation- 
alities of which the empire consisted. The higher came up 
last. This represented the Persian element, which, from being 
at first simply an ally of the Medes, came to be the leading 
division of the empire. The dift'erent directions in which the 
ram was seen pushing, denote the directions in which the 
Medes and Persians carried their conquests. aS'o earthly powers 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 1-7. 147 

could stand before them while thej were marching up to the 
exalted position to which the providence of God had sum- 
moned them. And so successfully were their conquests 
prosecuted that in the days of Ahasuerus (Esther 1 : 1), the 
Medo-Persian kingdom extended from India to Ethiopia, the 
extremities of the then known world, over a hundred and 
twenty-seven provinces. The prophecy almost seems to fall 
short of the facts as stated in history, when it simply says that 
this power '' did according to his will, and became great." 

Verse 5. And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the 
west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground : and 
the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6. And he came to the 
ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and 
ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7. And I saw him come close 
unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the 
ram, and brake his two horns : and there was no power in the ram to 
stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon 
him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 

'^ As I was considering," says the prophet; and in this he 
sets an example for every lover of the truth, and all who have 
any regard for things higher than the objects of time and sense. 
When Moses saw the burning bush, he said, ' ' I will now turn 
aside, and see this great sight. ' ' But how few are willing at 
the present time to turn aside from their pursuit of business 
or pleasure to consider the important themes to which both 
the mercy and providence of God are striving to call their 
attention. 

The symbol here introduced is also explained by the angel 
to Daniel. Yerse 21 : "And the rough goat is the king [or 
kingdom] of Grecia. " Concerning the fitness of this symbol 
to the Grecian or Macedonian people, Bishop Newton observes 
that the Macedonians, ' ' about two hundred years before the 
time of Daniel, were called ^geadse, the goats' people; " the 
origin of which name he explains, according to heathen authors, 
as follows : " Caranus, their first king, going with a great 
multitude of Greeks to seek new habitations in Macedonia, was 
advised by an oracle to take the goats for his guides to empire; 
and afterward, seeing a herd of goats flying from a violent 
1? 



148 PROPHECY OF J)AX1EL. 

storm, he followed them to Edessa, and there fixed the seat of 
his empire, and made the goats his ensigns, or standards, and 
called the city ^gse, or the goats' town, and the people, ^gea- 
dae, or the goats' people." "The city of ^geae, or ^gae, was 
the usual burying-place of the Macedonian kings. It is also 
very remarkable that Alexander's son by Roxana was named 
Alexander jEcfxis^ or the son of the (joat; and some of Alex- 
ander's successors are represented in their coins with goats' 
horns." — Dissertation on the Prophecies^ p. 2S8. 

The goat came from the west. Grecia lay west of Persia. 

" On the face of the whole earth." He covered all the 
ground as he passed; that is, he swept everything before him; 
he left nothing behind. 

He ' ' touched not the ground. ' ' Such was the marvelous 
celerity of his movements that he did not seem to touch the 
ground, but to fly from point to point with the swiftness of the 
wind; the same feature is brought to view by the four wings of 
the leopard in the vision of chapter T. 

The notable horn between his eyes. This is explained in 
verse 21 to be the first king of the Macedonian empire. This 
king was Alexander the Great. 

Yerses 6 and 7 give a concise account of tlie overthrow of 
the Persian empire by Alexander. The contests between the 
Greeks and Persians are said to have been exceedingly furious; 
and some of the scenes as recorded in history are vividly 
brought to mind by the figure used in the prophecy, — a ram 
standing before the river, and the goat running unto him in 
the fury of his power. Alexander first vanquished the generals 
of Darius at the River Granicus in Phrygia; lie next attacked 
and totally routed Darius at the passes of Issus in Cilicia, and 
afterward on the plains of Arbela in Syria. This last battle 
occurred b. o. 331, and marked the conclusion of the Persian 
empire; for by this event Alexander became complete master 
of the whole country. Bishop Newton quotes verse 6 : "And 
he [the goat] came to the ram which I had seen standing be- 
fore the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power;" 
and adds : ^ ' One can hardly read these words, without having 



CHAPTER 8, VERSE 8. 149 

some image of Darius 's army standing and guarding the River 
Granicus^ and of Alexander on the other side^ with his forces 
plunging in, swimming across the stream, and rushing on the 
enemy with all the fire and fury that can be imagined." — Id., 

p. m9. 

Ptolemy begins the reign of Alexander b. c. 332; but it 
was not till the battle of Arbela, the year following, that he 
became, according to Prideaux (Yol. I, p. 378), ''absolute 
lord of that empire to the utmost extent in which it was ever 
possessed by the Persian kings." On the eve of this engage- 
ment, Darius sent ten of his chief relatives to sue for peace; 
and upon their presenting their conditions to Alexander, he re- 
plied, ' ' Tell your sovereign . . . that the world will not per- 
mit two suns nor two sovereigns ! " 

The language of verse T sets forth the completeness of the 
subjection of Medo-Persia to Alexander. The two horns were 
broken, and the ram was cast to the ground and stamped upon. 
Persia was subdued, the country ravaged, its armies cut to 
pieces and scattered, its cities plundered, and the royal city of 
Persepolis, the capital of the Persian empire, and even in its 
ruins one of the wonders of the world to the present day, was 
sacked and burned. Thus the ram had no power to stand be- 
fore the goat, and there was none that could deliver him out of 
his hand. 

Verse 8. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great : and when he was 
strong, the great horn was broken ; and for it came up four notable ones 
toward the four winds of heaven. 

The conqueror is greater than the conquered. The ram, 
Medo-Persia, became great ; the goat, Grecia, became very 
great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken. 
Human foresight and speculation would have said. When he 
becomes weak, his kingdom racked by rebellion, or paralyzed 
by luxury, then the horn will be broken, and the kingdom 
shattered. But Daniel saw it broken in the very prime of its 
strength and the hight of its power, when every beholder 
would have exclaimed, Surely, the kingdom is established, and 



150 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

nothing can overthrow it. Thus it is often with the wicked. 
The horn of their strength is broken when they think they 
stand most firm. 

Alexander fell in the prime of life. (See notes on verse 39 
of chapter 2.) After his death there arose much confusion 
among his followers respecting the succession. It was finally 
agreed, after a seven days' contest, that his natural brother, 
Philip Aridseus, should be declared king. By him, and Alex- 
ander's infant sons, Alexander JEgus and Hercules, the name 
and show of the Macedonian empire were for a time sustained; 
but all these persons were soon murdered; and the family of 
Alexander being then extinct, the chief commanders of the 
army, who had gone into different parts of the empire as gov- 
ernors of the provinces, assumed the title of kings. They 
thereupon fell to leaguing and warring with one another to 
such a degree that within the short space of fifteen years from 
Alexander's death, the number was reduced to — how many? 
Five ? — No. Three ? — No. Two ? — No. But four — just 
the number specified in the prophecy; for four notable horns 
were to come up toward the four winds of heaven in place of 
the great horn that was broken. These^were, (1) Cassander, 
who had Greece and the neighboring countries; (2) Lysimachus, 
who had Asia Minor; (3) Seleucus, who had Syria and Baby- 
lon, and from whom came the line of kings known as the 
'' Seleucidse, " so famous in history; and (4) Ptolemy, sou of 
Lagus, who had Egypt, and from whom sprang the " Lagid^e." 
These held dominion toward the four winds of heaven. Cas- 
sander had the western parts; Lysimachus had the northern 
regions; Seleucus possessed the eastern countries; and Ptolemy 
had the southern portion of the empire. These four horns may 
therefore be named Macedonia, Thrace (which then inchided 
Asia Minor, and those parts lying on the Hellespont and Bos- 
porus), Syria, and Egypt. 

Verse 9. And out of one of thorn came fortli ;i littU' horn, which 
waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and 
toward tlie pleasant hind. 10. And it waxed great, even to the host of 
heaven: and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, 



ROME 




SYRIA 




.C.63. 



EGYPT. B.C. 30. 



THE LITTLE HORN OF DANIEL Vlil. 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 9-12. 151 

and stamped upon them. 11. Yea, he magnified himself even to the 
prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and 
the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12. And an host was given 
him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast 
down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered. 

A third power is here introduced into the prophecy. In 
the explanation which the angel gave to Daniel of these sym- 
bols, this one is not described in language so definite as that 
concerning Medo-Persia and Grecia. Hence a flood of wild 
conjecture is at once let loose. Had not the angel, in language 
which cannot be misunderstood, stated that Medo-Persia and 
Grecia were denoted by the ram and the he-goat, it is impos- 
sible to tell what application men would have given us of those 
symbols. Probably they would have applied them to anything 
and everything but the right objects. Leave men a moment 
to their own judgment in the iflterpretation of prophecy, and 
we immediately have the most sublime exhibitions of human 
fancy. ♦ 

There are two leading applications of the symbol now under 
consideration, which are all that need be noticed in these brief 
thoughts. The first is that the " little horn " here introduced 
denotes the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes; the second, that 
it denotes the Eoman power. It is an easy matter to test the 
claims of these two positions. 

I. Does it mean Antiochus ? If so, this king must fulfil 
the specifications of the prophecy. If he does not fulfil them, 
the application cannot be made to him. The little horn came 
out of one of the four horns of the goat. It was then a sepa- 
rate power, existing independently of, and distinct from, any 
of the horns of the goat. Was Antiochus such a power ? 

1. "Who was Antiochus? From the time that Seleucus made 
himself king over the Syrian portion of Alexander's empire, 
thus constituting the Syrian horn of the goat, until that country 
was conquered by the Romans, twenty-six kings ruled in suc- 
cession over that territory. The eighth of these, in order, was 
Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus, then, was simply one of 
the twenty-six kings who constituted the Syrian horn of the 



152 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 



goat. He was, for the time being, that horn. Hence he 
could not be at the same time a separate and independent 
power, or another and remarkable horn, as the little horn was. 

2. If it were proper to apply the little horn to any one of 
these twenty- six Syrian kings, it should certainly be applied to 
the most powerful and illustrious of them all; but Antiochus 
Epiphanes did not by any means sustain this character. Al- 
though he took the name Epiphanes, that is, The Illustrious, he 
was illustrious only in name; for nothing, says Prideaux, on 
the authority of Polybius, Livy, and Diodorus Siculus, could 
be more alien to his true character; for, on account of his vile 
and extravagant folly, some thinking him a fool and others a 
madman, they changed the name of Epiphanes, "The Illus- 
trious," into Epimanes, "The Madman." 

3. Antiochus the Great, the father of Epiphanes, being 
terribly defeated in a war with the Romans, was enabled to 
procure peace only by the payment of a prodigious sum of 
money, and the surrender of a portion of his territory; and, as 
a pledge that he would faithfully adhere to the terms* of the 
treaty, he was obliged to give hostages, among whom was this 
very Epiphanes, his son, who was carried to Rome. The 
Romans ever after maintained this ascendency. 

4. The little horn waxed exceeding great; but this Antio- 
chus did not wax exceeding great; on the contrary, he did not 
enlarge his dominion, except by some temporary conquests in 
Egypt, which he immediately relinquished when the Romans 
took the part of Ptolemy, and commanded him to desist from 
his designs in that quarter. The rage of his disappointed 
ambition he vented upon the unoffending Jews. 

5. The little horn, in comparison with the powers that pre- 
ceded it, was exceeding great. Persia is simply called great, 
though it reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces. 
Esther 1:1. Grecia, being more extensive still, is called very 
great. Now the little horn, which waxed cvceediixj great, 
must surpass them both. How absurd, then, to apply this to 
Antiochus, who was obliged to abandon Egypt at the dictation 
of the Romans, to whom he paid enormous sums of money as 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 9-12. 153 

tribute. The Eeligious Encyclopedia gives us this item of his 
history : '' Finding his resources exhausted, he resolved to go 
into Persia to levy tribute, and collect large sums which he had 
agreed to pay to the Romans. " It cannot take long for any 
one to decide the question which was the greater power, — ^ the 
one which evacuated Egypt, or the one which commanded that 
evacuation; the one which exacted tribute, or the one which 
was compelled to pay it. 

6. The little horn was to stand up against the Prince of 
princes. The Prince of princes here means, beyond contro- 
versy, Jesus Christ. Dan. 9:25; Acts 3:15; Rev. 1:5. 
But Antiochus died one hundred and sixty-four years before 
our Lord was born. The prophecy cannot, therefore, apply to 
him; for he does not fulfil the specifications in one single par- 
ticular. The question may then be asked how any one has 
ever come to apply it to him. We answer, Romanists take 
that view to avoid the application of the prophecy to them- 
selves; and many Protestants follow them, in order to oppose 
the doctrine that the second advent of Christ is now at hand. 

II. It has been an easy matter to show that the little horn 
does not denote Antiochus. It will be just as easy to show 
that it does denote Rome. 

1. The field of vision here is substantially the same as that 
covered by Nebuchadnezzar's image of chapter 2, and Daniel's 
vision of chapter 7. And in both those prophetic delineations 
we have found that the power which succeeded Grecia as the 
fourth great power, was Rome. The only natural inference 
would be that the little horn, the power which in this vision 
succeeds Grecia as an " exceeding great " power, is also Rome. 

2. The little horn comes forth from one of the horns of the 
goat. How, it may be asked, can this be true of Rome ? It 
is unnecessary to remind the reader that earthly governments 
are not introduced into prophecy till they become in some way 
connected with the people of God. Rome became connected 
with the Jews, the people of God at that time, by the famous 
Jewish League b. c. 161. 1 Maccabees 8; Josephus's Antiq- 
uities, book 12, chap. 10, sec. 6; Prideaux, Yol. II, p. 166. But 



154 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

seven years before this, that is, in b. c. 168, Rome had con- 
quered Macedonia, and made that country a part of its empire. 
Rome is therefore introduced into prophecy just as, from the 
conquered Macedonian horn of the goat, it is going forth to 
new conquests in other directions. It therefore appeared to 
the prophet, or may be properly spoken of in this prophecy, 
as coming forth from one of the horns of the goat. 

3. The little horn waxed great toward the south. This 
was true of Rome. Egypt was made a province of the Roman 
empire b. c. 30, and continued such for some centuries. 

4. The little horn waxed great toward the east. This also 
was true of Rome. Rome conquered Syria b. c. 65, and made 
it a province. 

5. The little horn waxed great toward the pleasant land. 
So did Rome. Judea is called the pleasant land in many 
scriptures. The Romans made it a province of their empire, 
B. c. 63, and eventually destroyed the city and the temple, and 
scattered the Jews over the face of the whole earth. 

6. The little horn waxed great even to the host of heaven. 
Rome did this also. The host of heaven, when used in a 
symbolic sense in reference to events transpiring upon the 
earth, must denote persons of illustrious character or exalted 
position. The great red dragon (Rev. 12:4) is said to have 
cast down a third part of the stars of heaven to the ground. 
The dragon is there interpreted to symbolize pagan Rome, and 
the stars it cast to the ground were Jewish rulers. Evidently 
it is the same power and the same work that is here brought to 
view, which again makes it necessary to apply this growing 
horn to Rome. 

7. The little horn magnified himself even to the Prince of 
the host. Rome alone did this. In the interpretation (verse 
25) this is called standing up against the Prince of princes 
How clear an allusion to the crucifixion of our Lord under the 
jurisdiction of the Romans. 

8. By the little horn the daily sacrifice was taken away. 
This little horn must be understood to symbolize Rome in its 
entire history, including its two phases, pagan and papal. 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 9-12. 155 

These two phases are elsewhere spoken of as the ' ' daily ' ' 
{sacrifice is a supplied word) and the ' ' transgression of deso- 
lation; " the daily (desolation) signifying the pagan form, 
and the transgression of desolation, the papal. (See on verse 
13.) In the actions ascribed to this power, sometimes one 
form is spoken of, sometimes the other. ' ' By him ' ' (the 
papal form) '- ' the daily ' ' (the pagan form) ' ' was taken away. ' ' 
Pagan Rome was remodeled into papal Rome. And the place 
of his sanctuary, or worship, the city of Rome, was cast down. 
The seat of government was removed by Constantine in a. d. 
330 to Constantinople. The same transaction is brought to view 
in Rev. 13.: 2, where it is said that the dragon, pagan Rome, 
gave to the beast, papal Rome, his seat, the city of Rome. 

9. A host was given him (the little horn) against the daily. 
The barbarians that subverted the Roman empire in the 
changes, attritions, and transformations of those times, be- 
came converts to the Catholic faith, and the instruments of the 
dethronement of their former religion. Though conquering 
Rome politically, they were themselves vanquished religiously 
by the theology of Rome, and became the perpetuators of the 
same empire in another phase. And this was brought about by 
reason of "transgression;" that is, by the working of the 
mystery of iniquity. The papacy is the most cunningly contrived, 
false ecclesiastical system ever devised; and it may be called a 
system of iniquity because it has committed its abominations 
and practiced its orgies of superstition, in the garb, and under 
the pretense, of pure and undefiled religion. 

10. The little horn cast the truth to the ground, and prac- 
ticed and prospered. This describes, in few words, the work 
and career of the papacy. The truth is by it hideously carica- 
tured; it is loaded with traditions; it is turned into mummery 
and superstition ; it is cast down and obscured. 

And this anti- Christian power has "practiced," — practiced 
its deceptions upon th-e people, practiced its schemes of cunning 
to carry out its own ends and aggrandize its own power. 

And it has ' '- prospered. ' ' It has made war with the saints, 
and prevailed against them. It has run its allotted career, and 
k 



156 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

is soon to be broken without hand, to be given to the burning 
Hame, and to perish in the consuming glories of the second ap- 
pearing of our Lord. 

Rome meets all the specifications of the prophecy. No 
other power does meet them. Hence Rome, and no other, is 
the power in question. And while tlie descriptions given in 
the word of God of the character of this monstrous system are 
fully met, the prophecies of its baleful history have been most 
strikingly and accurately fulfilled. 

Verse 13. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said 
unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision con- 
cerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give 
both the sanctuarj^ and the host to be trodden underfoot? 14. And he 
said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days ; then shall 
the sanctuary be cleansed. 

The time. These tw^o verses close the vision proper of 
chapter 8; and they introduce the one remaining point which 
of all others would naturally be of the most absorbing inter- 
est to the prophet and to all the church; namely, the time the 
desolating powers previously brought to view were to continue. 
How long shall they continue their course of oppression against 
God's people, and of blasphemy against high Heaven ? Daniel, 
if time had been given, might perhaps have asked this question 
himself, but God is ever ready to anticipate our wants, and 
sometimes to answer even before we ask. Hence two celestial 
beings appear upon the scene, holding a conversation, in the 
hearing of the prophet, upon this question which it is so im- 
])ortaTit that the church should understand. Daniel heard one 
saint speaking. What this saint spoke at this time we are not 
informed; but there must have been something either in the 
matter or the manner of this speaking which made a deep 
impression upon the mind of Daniel, inasmuch as he uses it 
in the very next sentence as a designating title, calling the 
angel " that certain saint which ^yxd'c.'''' He may have spoken 
something of the same nature as that which the seven thunders 
of the Apocalypse uttered (Rev. 10 : 8), and which, for S(une 
good reason, John was restrained from writing. But another 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 157 

Saint asked this one that spake an important question : HoW 
long tlie vision ? and both the question and the answer are 
placed upon record, which is jprinna-facie evidence that this is 
a matter which it was designed that the church should under- 
stand. And this view is further confirmed by the fact that the 
angel did not ask this question for his own information, inas- 
much as the answer was addressed to Daniel, as the one whom 
it chiefly concerned, and for whose information it was given. 
"And he said unto m^, " said Daniel, recording the answer 
to the angel's question, "Unto two thousand and three hun- 
dred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." 

The daily sacrifice. We have proof in verse 13 that sacri- 
fice is the wrong word to be supplied in connection with the 
word daily. If the daily sacrifice of the Jewish service is here 
meant, or, in other words, the taking away of that sacrifice, as 
some suppose, which sacrifice was at a certain point of time 
taken away, there would be no propriety in the question. How 
long the vision concerning it ? This question evidently implies 
that those agents or events to which the vision relates, occupy 
a long series of years. Continuance of time is the central idea. 
And the whole time of the vision is filled by what is here called 
the daily and the transgression of desolation. Hence the daily 
cannot be the daily sacrifice of the Jews, the taking away of 
which, when the time came for it, occupied comparatively but 
an instant of time. It must denote something which occupies 
a series of years. 

The word here rendered daily occurs in the Old Testa- 
ment, according to the Hebrew Concordance, one hundred and 
two times, and is, in the great majority of instances, rendered 
continual or continually. The idea of sacrifice does not at- 
tach to the word at all. Nor is there any word in the text 
which signifies sacrifice; that is wholly a supplied word, the 
translators putting in that word which their understanding of 
the text seemed to demand. But they evidently entertained an 
erroneous view, the sacrifices of the Jews not being referred to 
at all. It appears therefore more in accordance with both the 
construction and the context, to suppose that the word daily 



158 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

refers to a desolating power, like the * ' transgression of desola- 
tion," with which it is connected. Then we have two desolat- 
ing powers, which for a long period oppress, or desolate the 
church. The Hebrew, DDti' };\?^r\\ Tnnn, justifies this construc- 
tion; the last word, ddU', desolation, having a common relation 
to the two preceding nOuns, the perpetvM and the transgression, 
which are connected by the conjunction and. Literally, it may 
be rendered, ' ' How long the vision [ concerning ] the continu- 
ance and the transgression of desolation ? ' ' the word desolation 
being related to both continuance and transgression, as though 
it were expressed in full, thus: *'The continuance of desolation 
and the transgression of desolation." By the " continuance of 
desolation," or the perpetual desolation, we must understand 
that paganism, through all its long history, is meant; and by 
'^ the transgression of desolation" is meant the papacy. The 
phrase describing this latter power is stronger than that used to 
describe paganism. It is the transgression ( or rebellion, as the 
word also means) of desolation; as though imder this period of 
the history of the church the desolating power had rebelled 
against all restraint previously imposed upon it. 

From a religious point of view, the world has presented 
only these two phases of opposition against the Lord's work in 
th« earth. Hence although three earthly governments are in- 
troduced in the prophecy as oppressors of the church, they 
are here ranged under two heads ; "the daily, " and the '^ trans- 
gression of desolation." Medo-Persia was pagan ; Grecia was 
pagan ; Rome in its first phase was pagan ; these all were 
embraced in the ^' daily." Then comes the papal form, — the 
' ' transgression of desolation " — a marvel of craft and cun- 
ning, an incarnation of fiendish blood-thirstiness and cruelty. 
No wonder the cry has gone up from suffering martyrs, from 
age to age. How long, O Lord, how long I And no wonder 
the Lord, in order that hope might not wholly die out of the 
hearts of his down-trodden, waiting peo])le, has lifted before 
them the vail of futurity, showing them tlie consecutive events 
of tlio world's history, till all these persecuting powers shall 
meet an utter and everlasting destruction, and giving them 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 159 

glimpses beyond, of the unfading glories of their eternal 
inheritance. 

The Lord's eye is upon his people. The furnace will be 
heated no hotter than necessary to consume the dross. It is 
through much tribulation we are to enter the kingdom; and the 
word tribulation is from tribvlum^ a threshing sledge. Blow 
after blow must be laid upon us; till all the wheat is beaten 
free from the chaff, and we are made fit for the heavenly gar- 
ner. But not a kernel of wheat shall be lost. Says the Lord 
to his people, Ye are the light of the world, the salt of the 
earth. In his eyes there is nothing else on the earth of con- 
sequence or importance. Hence the peculiar question here 
asked, How long the vision respecting the daily and the 
transgression of desolation ? Concerning what ? — the glory 
of earthly kingdoms ? the skill of renowned warriors ? the 
fame of mighty conquerors ? the grsatness of human empire ? 

— No ; but concerning the sanctuary and the host, the people 
and worship of the Most High. How long shall they be trod- 
den under foot ? Here is where all Heaven' s interest and sym- 
pathy are enlisted. He who touches the people of God, 
touches not mere mortals, weak and helpless, but Omnipo- 
tence; he opens an account which must be settled at the bar of 
Heaven. And soon all these accounts will be adjusted, the 
iron heel of oppression will itself be crushed, and a people will 
be brought out of the furnace prepared to shine as the stars 
forever and ever. To be one who is an object of interest to 
heavenly beings, one whom the providence of God is engaged 
to preserve while here, and crown with immortality hereafter 

— what an exalted position ! How much higher than that of 
any king, president, or potentate of earth? Reader, are you 
one of the number? 

Respecting the 2300 days, introduced for the first time in 
verse 14, there are no data in this chapter from which to 
determine their commencement and close, or tell what portion 
of the world's history they cover. It is necessary, therefore, 
for the present, to. pass them by. Let the reader be assured, 
however, that we are not left in any uncertainty concerning 
13 



IGO PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

those days. The declaration respecting them is a part of a 
revelation which is given for the instruction of the people of 
God, and is consequently to be understood. They are spoken 
of in the midst of a prophecy which the angel Gabriel was 
commanded to make Daniel understand; and it may be safely 
assumed that Gabriel somewhere carried out this instruction. 
It will accordingly be found that the mystery which hangs over 
these days in this chapter, is dispelled in the next. 

The sanchiary. Connected with the 2300 days is another 
subject of equal importance, which now presents itself for 
consideration ; namely, the sanctuary; and with this is also 
connected the subject of its cleansing. An examination of 
these subjects, will reveal the importance of having an under- 
standing of the commencement and termination of the 2300 
days, that we may know when the great event called "the 
cleansing of the sanctuary " is to transpire ; for all the inhab- 
itants of the earth, as will in due time appear, have a personal 
interest in that solemn work. 

Several objects have been claimed by different ones as the 
sanctuary here mentioned: (1) The earth; (2) The land of 
Canaan; (3) The church; (4) The sanctuary, the "true tab- 
ernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man," which is "in 
the heavens," and of which the Jewish tabernacle was a type, 
pattern, or figure. Heb. 8:1, 2 ; 9 : 23, 24. These con- 
flicting claims must be decided by the Scriptures; and for- 
tunately the testimony is neither meager nor ambiguous. 

1. Is the earth the sanctuary f The word sanctuary occurs 
in the Old and New Testaments one hundred and forty-four 
times, and from the definitions of lexicographers, and its use 
in the Bible, we learn that it is used to signify a holy or sacred 
place, a dwelling-place for the Most High. If, therefore, the 
earth is the sanctuary, it must answer to this definition; but 
what single characteristic pertaining to this earth is found 
which will satisfy the definition ? It is neither a holy nor a 
sacred place, nor is it a dwelling-place for the Most High. 
It has no mark of distinction, except as being a revolted planet, 
marred by sin, scarred and witliered bv the curse. Moreover, 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 161 

it is nowhere in all the Scriptures called the sanctuary. Only 
one text can be produced in favor of this view, and that only 
by an uncritical application. Isa. 60 : 13 says: ''The glory 
of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, 
and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; 
and I will make the place of my feet glorious." This lan- 
guage undoubtedly refers to the new earth; but even that is not 
called the sanctuary, but only the "place" of the sanctuary, 
just as it is called "the place " of the Lord's feet; an expression 
which probably denotes the continual presence of God with his 
people, as it was revealed to John when it was said, ' ' Behold, 
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with 
them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be 
with them, and be their God." Rev. 21 : 3. All that can 
be said of the earth, therefore, is, that when renewed, it will be 
the place where the sanctuary of God will be located. It can 
present not a shadow of a claim to being the sanctuary at the 
present time, or the sanctuary of the prophecy. 

2. Is the land of Canaan the sanctuary? So far as we 
may be governed by the definition of the word, it can present 
no better claim than the earth to that distinction. If we 
inquire where in the Bible it is called the sanctuary, a few 
texts are brought forward which seem to be supposed by some 
to furnish the requisite testimony. The first of these is Ex. 
15 : 17. Moses, in his song of triumph and praise to God 
after the passage of the Red Sea, exclaimed : ' ' Thou shalt 
bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inherit- 
ance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to 
dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have 
established." A writer who urges this text, says, " I ask the 
reader to pause, and examine and'" settle the question most 
distinctly, before he goes further. What is the sanctuary here 
spoken of ? " But it would be far safer for the reader not to 
attempt to settle the question definitely from this one isolated 
text before comparing it with other scriptures. Moses here 
speaks in anticipation. His language is a prediction of what 
God would do for his people. Let us see how it was accom- 



162 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

plislied. If we find, in the fulfilment, that the land in which 
thej were planted is called the sanctuary, it will greatly 
strengthen the claim that is based upon this text. If, on the 
other hand, we find a plain distinction drawn between the land 
and the sanctuary, then Ex. 15 : 17 must be interpreted accord- 
ingly. We turn to David, who records as a matter of history 
what Moses uttered as a matter of prophecy. Ps. 78 : 53, 54. 
The subject of the psalmist here, is the deliverance of Israel 
from Egyptian servitude, and their establishment in the 
promised land ; and he says : ^ ' And he [God] led them on 
safely, so that they feared not : but the sea overwhelmed their 
enemies. And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, 
even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.-' 
The '* mountain" here mentioned by David is the same as 
the ' ' mountain of thine inheritance ' ' spoken of by Moses, in 
which the people were to be planted; and this mountain David 
calls, not the sanctuary, but only the border of the sanctuary. 
What, then, was the sanctuary? Yerse 69 of the same psalm 
informs us : " And he huilt his sanctuary like high palaces, 
like the earth which he hath established forever. ' ' The same 
distinction between the sanctuary and the land is pointed out 
in the prayer of good king Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron. 20 : 7, 8 : 
"Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of 
this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed 
of Abraham thy friend forever? And they dwelt therein, and 
have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name." Taken 
alone, some try to draw an inference from Ex. 15 : 17 that the 
mountain was the sanctuary; but when we take in connection 
with it the language of David, which is a record of the fulfil- 
ment of Moses' prediction, and an inspired commentary upon 
liis language, such an idea cannot be entertained; for David 
plainly says that the mountain was shnply the '' border" of the 
sanctuary; and that in that border, or land, the sanctuary was 
' ' built ' ' like high palaces, reference being made to the beautiful 
temple of the Jews, the center and symbol of all their worshi]>. 
But whoever will read carefully Ex. 15: 17, will see that not 
even an inference is necessary that Moses by the word sdnctu- 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 163 

ary means the mountain of inheritance, much less the whole 
land of Palestine. In the freedom of poetic license, he employs 
elliptical expressions, and passes rapidly from one idea or 
object to another. First, the inheritance engages his attention, 
and he speaks of it; then the fact that the Lord was to dwell 
there; then the place he was to provide for his dwelling there ; 
namely, the sanctuary which he would cause to be built. David 
thus associates Mount Zion and Judah together in Ps. 78 : 68, 
because Zion was located in Judah. 

The three texts, Ex. 15 : 17; Ps. 78 : 54, 69, are the ones 
chiefly relied on to prove that the land of Canaan is the 
sanctuary; but, singularly enough, the two latter, in plain 
language, clear away the ambiguity of the first, and utterly 
disprove the claim that is based thereon. 

Having disposed of the main proof on this point, it would 
hardly seem worth while to spend time with those texts from 
which only inferences can be drawn. As there is, however, 
only one even of this class, we will refer to it, that no point 
may be left unnoticed. Isa. 63:18: "The people of thy 
holiness have possessed it but a little while : our adversaries 
have trodden down thy sanctuary." This language is as 
applicable to the temple as to the land; for when the land was 
overrun with the enemies of Israel, their temple was laid in 
ruins. This is plainly stated in verse 11 of the next chapter : 
" Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised 
thee, is burned up with fire." The text therefore proves 
nothing for this view. 

Kespecting the earth or the land of Canaan as the sanctuary, 
we offer one thought more. If either constitutes the sanctuary, 
it should not only be somewhere described as such, but the 
same idea should be carried through to the end, and the pu- 
rification of the earth or of Palestine should be called the 
cleansing of the sanctuary. The earth is indeed defiled, and it 
is to be purified by fii-e; but fire, as we shall see, is not the 
agent which is used in the cleansing of the sanctuary; and this 
purification of the earth, or any part of it, is nowhere in the 
Bible called the cleansing of the sanctuary. 



164 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

3. Is the ckurcJb the sanctuary f The evident mistrust with 
which this idea is suggested, is a virtual surrender of the argu- 
ment before it is presented. The one solitary text adduced in 
its support is Ps. 114 : 1, 2: "When Israel went out of Egypt, 
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language ; J udah 
was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion." Should we take 
this text in its most literal sense, what would it prove respecting 
the sanctuary ? It would prove that the sanctuary was confined 
to one of the twelve tribes; and hence that a portion of the 
clmrch only, not the whole of it, constitutes the sanctuary. 
But this, proving too little for the theory under consideration, 
proves nothing. Why Judah is called the sanctuary in the text 
quoted, need not be a matter of perplexity, when w^e remember 
that God chose Jerusalem, which was in Judah, as the place of 
his sanctuary. "But chose," says David, "the tribe of Ju- 
dah, the Mount Zion which he loved. And he built his sanc- 
tuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established 
forever. ' ' This clearly shows the connection which existed be- 
tween Judah and the sanctuary. That tribe itself was not the 
sanctuary ; but it is once spoken of as such when Israel came 
forth from Egypt, because God purposed that in the midst of 
the territory of that tribe his sanctuary should be located. But 
even if it could be shown that the church is anywhere called 
the sanctuary, it would be of no consequence to our present 
purpose, which is to determine what constitutes the sanctuary 
of Dan. 8:13, 14 ; for the church is there spoken of as an- 
other object: "To give hoth the sanctuary and the host to be 
trodden under foot." That by the term Iwst the church is here 
meant, none will dispute; the sanctuary is therefore another 
and a different object. 

4. Is tlie temple in heaven the sanctuary / There now re- 
mains but this one claim to be examined; namely, that the 
sanctuary mentioned in the text is what Paul calls in Hebrews 
the " true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man," 
to which ho expressly gives the name of " the sanctuary," and 
which he locates in ' ' the heavens ; " of which sanctuary, there 
existed, under the former dispensation, first in the tabernacle 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 165 

built by Moses, and afterward in the temple at Jerusalem, a 
pattern, type, or figure. And let it be particularly noticed, 
that on the view here suggested rests our only hope of ever un- 
derstanding this question ; for we have seen that all other posi- 
tions are untenable. No other object which has ever been 
supposed by any one to be the sanctuary — the earth, the land 
of Canaan, or the church — can for a moment support such a 
claim. If, therefore, we do not find it in the object before us, 
we may abandon the search in utter despair ; we may discard 
so much of revelation as still unrevealed, and may cut out from 
the sacred page, as so much useless reading, the numerous pas- 
sages which speak on this subject. All those, therefore, who, 
rather than that so important a subject should go by default, 
are willing to lay aside all preconceived opinions and cherished 
views, will approach the position before us with intense 
anxiety and unbounded interest. They will lay hold of any 
evidence that may here be given us, as a man bewildered in a 
labyi'inth of darkness would lay hold of the thread which was 
his only guide to lead him forth again to light. 

It will be safe for us to put ourselves in imagination in the 
place of Daniel, and view the subject from his standpoint. 
What would he understand by the term sanctuary as addressed 
to him? If we can ascertain this, it will not be difficult to 
arrive at correct conclusions on this subject. His mind would 
inevitably turn, on the mention of that word, to the sanctuary 
of that dispensation; and certainly he well knew what that was. 
His mind did turn to Jerusalem, the city of his fathers, which 
was then in ruins, and to their "beautiful house," which, as 
Isaiah laments, was burned with fire. And so, as was his 
wont, with his face turned toward the place of their once ven- 
erated temple, he prayed God to cause his face to shine upon 
his sanctuary, which was desolate. By the word sanctuiiry 
Daniel evidently understood their temple at Jerusalem. 

But Paul bears testimony which is most explicit on this 
point. Heb. 9:1: "Then verily the first covenant had also 
ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary." This 
is the very point which at present we are concerned to deter- 



166 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

mine : What was the sanctuary uf tlie first covenant ( Paul 
proceeds to tell us. Hear him. Yerses 2-5 : " For there was 
a tabernacle made; the first [or first apartment], wherein was 
the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is 
called the sanctuary [margin, the holy]. And after the second 
veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; which 
had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid 
round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had 
manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the 
covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the 
mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly." 

There is no mistaking the object to which Paul here has 
reference. It is the tabernacle erected by Moses according to 
the direction of the Lord (which was afterward merged into the 
temple at Jerusalem), with a holy and a most holy place, and 
various vessels of service, as here set forth. A full description 
of this building, with its various vessels and their uses, will 
be found in Exodus, chapter 25 and onward. If the reader 
is not familiar with this subject, he is requested to turn and 
closely examine the description of this building. This, Paul 
plainly says, was the sanctuary of the first covenant. And we 
wish the reader carefully to mark the logical value of this dec- 
laration. By telling us what did positively for a time constitute 
the sanctuary, Paul sets us on the right track of inquiry. He 
gives us a basis on which to work. For a time, the field is 
cleared of all doubt and all obstacles. During the time covered 
by the first covenant, which reached from Sinai to Christ, we 
have before us a distinct and plainly defined object, minutely 
described by Moses, and declared by Paul to be the sanctuary 
during that time. 

But Paul's language has greater significance even than this. 
It forever annihilates the claims which are put forth in behalf 
of the earth, the land of Canaan, or the church, as the sanc- 
tuary; for the arguments which would prove them to be the 
sanctuary at any time, would prove them to be such under the 
old dispensation. If Canaan was at any time the sanctuary, 
it was such when Israel was planted in it. If the church was 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 167 

ever the sanctuary, it was such when Israel was led forth from 
Egypt. If the earth was ever the sanctuary, it was such during 
the period of which we speak. To this period the arguments 
urged in their favor apply as fully as to any other period ; and 
if they were not the sanctuary during this time, then all the 
arguments are destroyed which would show that they ever were, 
or ever could be, the sanctuary. But were they the sanctuary 
during that time? This is a final question for these theories; 
and Paul decides it in the negative, by describing to us the 
tabernacle of Moses, and telling us that that — not the earth, 
nor Canaan, nor the church — was the sanctuary of that dis- 
pensation. 

And this building answers in every respect to the defini- 
tion of the term, and the use for which the sanctuary was 
designed. 

1. It was the earthly dwelling-place of God. ^^Let them 
make me a sanctuary," said he to Moses, '<■ that I may dwell 
among them." Ex. 25:8. In this tabernacle, which they 
erected according to his instructions, he manifested his pres- 
ence. 2. It was a holy, or sacred place, — ''the holy sanc- 
tuary." Lev. 16 : 33. 3. In the word of God it is over and 
over again called the sanctuary. Of the one hundred and forty 
instances-in which the word is used in the Old Testament, it 
refers in almost every case to this building. 

The tabernacle was at first constructed in such a manner as 
to be adapted to the condition of the children of Israel at that 
time. They were jusf entering upon their forty years' wander- 
ing in the wilderness, when this building was set up in their 
midst as the habitation of God, and the center of their religious 
worship. Journeying was a necessity, and removals were fre- 
quent. It would be necessary that the tabernacle should often 
be moved from place to place. It was, therefore, so fashioned 
of movable parts, the sides being composed of upright boards, 
and the covering consisting of curtains of linen and dyed skms, 
that it could be readily taken down, conveniently transported, 
and easily erected at each successive stage of their journey. 
After entering the promised land, this temporary structure in 



168 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

time gave place to the magnificent temple of Solomon. In this 
more permanent form it existed, saving only the time it lay in 
ruins in Daniel's day, till its final destruction by the Romans 
in A. D. 70. 

This is the only sanctuary connected with the earth, con- 
cerning which the Bible gives us any instruction, or history 
any record. But is there nowhere any other? This was the 
sanctuary of the first covenant; with that covenant it came to 
an end ; is there no sanctuary which pertains to the second, 
or new covenant 1 There must be ; otherwise the analogy is 
lacking between these covenants; and in this case the first cove- 
nant had a system of worship, which, though minutely de- 
scribed, is unintelligible, and the second covenant has a system 
of worship which is indefinite and obscure. And Paul virtu- 
ally asserts that the new covenant, in force since the death of 
Christ, the testator, has a sanctuary; for when, in contrasting 
the two covenants, as he does in the book of Hebrews, he says 
in chapter 9 : 1 that the first covenant " had also ordinances of 
divine service, and a worldly sanctuary," it is the same as 
saying that the new covenant has likewise its services and its 
sanctuary. Furthermore, in verse 8 of this chapter he speaks 
of the worldly sanctuary as the Jirst tabernacle. If that was 
the first, there must be a second ; and as the fii'st tabernacle 
existed so long as the first covenant was in force, when that 
covenant came to an end, the second tabernacle must have 
taken the place of the first, and must be the sanctuary of the 
new covenant. There can be no evading this conclusion. 

Where, then, shall we look for the sanctuary of the new 
covenant? Paul, by the use of the word also, in Heb. 9:1, 
intimates that he had before spoken of this sanctuary. We 
turn back to the beginning of the previous chapter, and find 
him summing up his foregoing arguments as follows: '^ Now of 
the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have 
such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne 
of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, 
and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not 
man." Can there be anv doubt that we have in this text the 



CHAPTER 8, VER8ES 18. 14. .169 

sanctuary of the new covenant ? A plain allusion is here made 
to the sanctuary of the first covenant. That was pitched by 
man, erected by Moses; this was pitched by the Lord, not by 
man. That was the place where the earthly priests performed 
their ministry; this is the place where Christ, the High Priest 
of the new covenant, performs his ministry. That was on 
earth; this is in heaven. That was therefore very properly 
called by Paul a "worldly sanctuary;" this is a "heavenly 
one." 

This view is further sustained by the fact that the sanctuary 
built by Moses was not an original structure, but was built 
after a pattern. The great original existed somewhere else ; 
what Moses constructed was but a type, or model. Listen to 
the directions the Lord gave him on this point: "According to 
all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and 
the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye 
make it. " Ex. 25 : 9. "And look that thou make them after 
their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount. ' ' Yerse 
40. (To the same end see Ex. 26 : 30 ; 27 : 8 ; Acts 7 : M.) 

Now of what was the earthly sanctuary a type, or figure ^ 
Answer : Of the sanctuary of the new covenant, the ' ' true 
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." The rela- 
tion which the first covenant sustains to the second throughout, 
is that of type to antitype. Its sacrifices were types of the 
greater sacrifice of this dispensation; its priests were types of 
our Lord, in his more perfect priesthood; their ministry was 
performed unto the shadow and example of the ministry of our 
High Priest above; and the sanctuary where they ministered, 
was a type, or figure, of the true sanctuary in heaven, where 
our Lord performs his ministry. 

All these facts are plainly stated by Paul in a few verses 
to the Hebrews. Chapter 8:4,5: " For if he [Christ] were 
on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are 
priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto 
the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was 
admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: 
for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the 



170 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

pattern showed to thee in the mount. ' ' This testimony shows 
that the ministry of the earthly priests was a shadow (^f Christ's 
priesthood; and the evidence Paul brings forward to prove it, 
is the direction which God gave to Moses to make the taber- 
nacle, according to the pattern showed him in the mount. 
This clearly identities the pattern showed to Moses in the 
mount with the sanctuary, or true tabernacle, in heaven, where 
our Lord ministers, mentioned three verses before. 

In chapter 9:8, 9, Paul further says : ^'The Holy Ghost 
this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all [Greek, holy 
places, plural] was not yet made manifest, while as the first 
tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time 
then present, ' ' etc. While the first tabernacle stood, and the 
first covenant was in force, the ministration of the more perfect 
tabernacle and the work of the new covenant was not, of 
course, carried forward. But when Christ came, a high priest 
of good things to come, when the first tabernacle had served 
its purpose, and the first covenant had ceased, then Christ, 
raised to the throne of the Majesty in the heavens as a minister 
of the true sanctuary, entered by his own blood (verse 12) 
' ' into the holy place [where also the Greek has the plural, the 
holy places], having obtained eternal redemption for us." Of 
these heavenly holy places, therefore, the first tabernacle was a 
figure for the time then present. If any further testimony is 
needed, he speaks, in verse 23, of the earthly tabernacle, with 
its apartments and instruments, as patteriu of things in the 
heavens; and in verse 24, he calls the holy places made with 
hands, that is, the earthly tabernacle erected by Moses, figures 
of the true; that is, the tabernacle in heaven. 

This view is still further corroborated by the testimony of 
John. Among the things which he was permitted to behold in 
heaven, he saw seven lamps of fire burning before the throne 
(Rev. 4:5); he saw an altar of incense, and a golden censer 
(chapter 8:3); he saw the ark of God's testament (chapter 
11 : 19); and all this in connection with a ''temple'' in heaven. 
Eev. 11:19; 15:8. These objects every Bible reader nmst 
at once recognize as implements of the sanctuary. They owed 



CHAPTER 8. VERSES 13, 14. 171 

their existence to the sanctuary, and were confined to it, to be 
employed in the ministration connected therewith. As without 
the sanctuary they had not existed, so wherever we find these, 
we may know that there is the sanctuary; and hence the fact 
that John saw these things in heaven in this dispensation, is 
proof that there is a sanctuary there, and that he was permitted 
to behold it. 

However reluctant a person may have been to acknowledge 
that there is a sanctuary in heaven, the testimony that has been 
presented is certainly sufficient to prove this fact. Paul says 
that the tabernacle of Moses was the sanctuary of the first 
covenant. Moses says that God showed him in the mount a 
pattern, according to which he was to make this tabernacle. 
Paul testifies again that Moses did make it according to the 
pattern, and that the pattern was the true tabernacle in heaven, 
which the Lord pitched, and not man; and that of this heavenly 
sanctuary the tabernacle erected with hands was a true figure, 
or representation. And finally, John, to corroborate the state- 
ment of Paul that this sanctuary is in heaven, bears testimony, 
as an eye-witness, that he beheld it there. What further 
testimony could be required? I^ay, more, what further is 
conceivable ? 

So far as the question as to what constitutes the sanctuary 
is concerned, we now have the subject before us in • one har- 
monious whole. The sanctuary of the Bible — mark it, all, 
dispute it, who can — consists, first, of the typical tabernacle 
established with the Hebrews at the exode from Egypt, which 
was the sanctuary of the first covenant; and, secondly, of the 
true tabernacle in heaven, of which the former was a type, or 
figure, which is the sanctuary of the new covenant. These are 
inseparably connected together as type and antitype. From 
the antitype we go back to the type, and from the type we are 
carried forward naturally and inevitably to the antitype. 

We have said that Daniel would at once understand by the 
word sanctuary the sanctuary of his people at Jerusalem; so 
would any one under that dispensation. But does the declara- 
tion of Dan. 8 : 14 have reference to that sanctuary ? That 



172 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

depends upon tlie time to which it applies. All the declarations 
respecting the sanctuary which apply under the old dispensation, 
have respect, of course, to the sanctuary of that dispensation; 
and all those declarations which apply in this dispensation, 
must have reference to the sanctuary of this dispensation. If 
the 2300 days, at the termination of which the sanctuary is to 
be cleansed, ended in the former dispensation, the sanctuary to 
be cleansed was the sanctuary of that 'time. If they reach 
over into this dispensation, the sanctuary to which reference is 
made is the sanctuary of this dispensation, — the new-covenant 
sanctuary in heaven. This is a point which can be determined 
only by a further argument on the 2300 days; and this will be 
found in remarks on Dan. 9 : 2^, where the subject of time is' 
resumed and explained. 

What we have thus far said respecting the sanctuary, has 
been only incidental to the main question in the prophecy. 
That question has respect to its cleansing. Unto 2300 days, 
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. But it was necessary 
first to determine what constituted the sanctuary, before we 
could understandingly examine the question of its cleansing. 
For this we are now prepared. 

Having learned what constitutes the sanctuary, the question 
of its cleansing and how it is accomplished, is soon decided. 
It has been noticed that whatever constitutes the sanctuary of 
the Bible, must have some service connected with it which is 
called its cleansing. There is no account in the Bible of any 
work so named as pertaining to this earth, the land of Canaan, 
or the church ; which is good evidence that none of these 
objects constitutes the sanctuary ; there f's such a service con- 
nected with the object which we have shown to be the sanc- 
tuary, and which, in reference to both thei earthly building and 
the heavenly temple, is called its cleansing. 

Does the reader object to the idea of there being anything 
in heaven which is to be cleansed 'i Is this a barrier in the 
way of his receiving the view here presented ? Then his con- 
troversy is not with tliis work, but with Paul, wlio positively 
affirms this fact. But before he decides against the apostle, 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 173 

we ask the objector to examine carefully in reference to the na- 
ture of this cleansing, as he is here undoubtedly laboring under 
an utter misapprehension. The following are the plain terms 
in which Paul affirms the cleansing of both the earthly and the 
heavenly sanctuary : ' ' And almost all things are by the law 
purged with blood ; and without shedding of blood is no remis- 
sion. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in 
the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly 
tilings themselves with better sacrifices than these. ' ' Heb. 9 : 
22, 23. In the light of foregoing arguments, this may be para- 
phrased thus : '* It was therefore necessary that the tabernacle, 
as erected by Moses, with its sacred vessels, which were patterns 
of the true sanctuary in heaven, should be purified, or cleansed, 
with the blood of calves and goats ; but the heavenly things 
themselves, the sanctuary of this dispensation, the true taber- 
riacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man, must be cleansed 
with better sacrifices, even with the blood of Christ." 

We now inquire. What is the nature of this cleansing, and 
how is it to be accomplished ? According to the language of 
Paul, just quoted, it is performed by means of blood. The 
cleansing is not, therefore, a cleansing from physical unclean- 
ness or impurity; for blood is not the agent used in such a 
work. And this consideration should satisfy the objector's 
mind in regard to the cleansing of the heavenly things. The 
fact that Paul ^speaks of heavenly things to be cleansed, does 
not prove that there is any physical impurity in heaven; for 
that is not the kind of cleansing to which he refers. The 
reason Paul assigns why this cleansing is performed with 
blood, is because without the shedding of blood there is no 
remission, 

Eemission, then, that is, the putting away of sin, is the 
work to be done. The cleansing, therefore, is not physical 
cleansing, but a cleansing from sin. But how came sins con- 
nected with the sanctuary, either the earthly or the heavenly, 
that it should need to be cleansed from them ? This question 
is answered by the ministration connected with the type, to 
which we now turn. 

14 



174 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

The closing chapters of Exodus give us an account of 
the construction of the earthly sanctuary, and tlie arrangement 
of the service connected therewith. Leviticus opens with an 
account of the ministration which was there to be performed. 
All that it is to our purpose to notice here, is one particular 
branch of the service, which was performed as follows : The 
person who had committed sin, brought his victim to the door 
of the tabernacle. Upon the head of this victim he placed his 
hand for a moment, and, as we may reasonably infer, confessed 
over him his sin. By this expressive act he signified that he 
had sinned, and was worthy of death, but that in his stead he 
consecrated his victim, and transferred his guilt to it. With 
his own hand (and what must have been his emotions ?) he 
then took the life of his victim on account of that guilt. The 
law demanded the life of the transgressor for his disobedience; 
the life is in the blood (Lev. IT : 11, 14); hence without the 
shedding of blood, there is no remission; with the shedding of 
blood, remission is possible; for the demand of life by the law is 
thus satisfied. The blood of the victim, representative of a 
forfeited life, and the vehicle of its guilt, was then taken by 
the priest, and ministered before the Lord. 

The sin of the individual was thus, by his confession, by the 
slaying of the victim, and by the ministry of the priest, trans- 
ferred from himself to the sanctuary. Yictim after victim was 
thus offered by the people. Day by day the work went for- 
ward; and thus the sanctuary continually became the receptacle 
of the sins of the congregation. But this was not the final 
disposition of these sins. The accumulated guilt was removed 
by a special service, which was called the cleansing of the sanc- 
tuary. This service, in the type, occupied one day in the year; 
and the tenth day of the seventh month, on which it was per- 
formed, was called the day of atonement. On this day, while 
all Israel refrained from work and aflflicted their souls, the 
priest brought two goats, and presented them before the Lord 
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. On these 
goats he cast lots; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for 
the scape-goat. The one upon which the Lord's lot fell, was 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 175 

then slain, and his blood was carried by the priest into the most 
holy place of the sanctuary, and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat. 
And this was the only day on which he was permitted to enter 
into that apartment. Coming forth, he was then to lay both 
his hands upon the head of the scape-goat, confess over him 
all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their trans- 
gressions in all their sins, and, thus putting them upon his 
head (Lev. 16 : 21), he was to send him away by the hand of 
a fit man into a land not inhabited, a land of separation, or 
forgetfulness, the goat never again to appear in the camp* of 
Israel, and the sins of the people to be remembered against 
them no more. This service was for the purpose of cleansing 
the people from their sins, and cleansing the sanctuary and its 
sacred vessels. Lev. 16 : 30, 33. By this process, sin was 
removed, — but only in figure; for all that work was typical. 
The reader to whom these views are new will be ready 
here to inquire, perhaps, with some astonishment, what this 
strange work could possibly be designed to typify; what there 
is in this dispensation which it was designed to prefigure. We 
answer, A similar work in the ministration of Christ, as Paul 
clearly teaches. After stating, in Hebrews 8, that Christ is 
the minister of the true tabernacle, the sanctuary in heaven, he 
states that the priests on earth served unto the example and 
shadow of heavenly things. In other words, the work of the 
earthly priests was a shadow, an example, a correct repre- 
sentation, so far as it could be carried out by mortals, of the 
ministration of Christ above. These priests ministered in both 
apartments of the earthly tabernacle, Christ therefore ministers 
in both apartments of the heavenly temple; for that temple 
has two apartments, or it was not correctly represented by the 
earthly; and our Lord officiates in both, or the service of the 
priest on earth was not a correct shadow of his work. But 
Paul directly states that he ministers in both apartinents; for 
he says that he has entered into the holy place (Greek, '^ «/««? 
the holy places) by his own blood. Heb. 9 : 12. There is 
therefore a work performed by Christ in his ministry in the 
heavenly temple, corresponding to that performed by the priests 



176 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

in both apartments of the earthly building. But the work in 
the second apartment, or most holy place, was a special work 
to close the yearly round of service, and cleanse the sanctuary. 
Hence Christ's ministration in the second apartment of the 
heavenly sanctuary must be a work of like nature, and con- 
stitute the close of his work as our great High Priest, and the 
cleansing of that sanctuary. 

As through the sacrifices of a former dispensation the sins 
of the people were transferred in figure by the priests to the 
eartlily sanctuary, where those priests ministered, so ever since 
Christ ascended to be our intercessor in the presence of his 
Father, the sins of all those who sincerely seek pardon through 
him, are transferred in fact to the heavenly sanctuary where 
he ministers. Whether Christ ministers for us in the heavenly 
holy places with his own blood literally, or only by virtue of 
its merits, we need not stop to inquire. Suffice it to say, that 
his blood has been shed, and through that blood remission of 
sins is secured in fact, which was obtained only in figure 
through the blood of the calves and goats of the former dis- 
pensation. But those sacrifices had real virtue in this respect : 
they signified faith in a real sacrifice to come ; and thus those 
who employed them have an equal interest in the work of 
Christ with those who in this dispensation come to him 
by faith, through the ordinances of the gospel. 

The continual transfer of sins to the heavenly sanctuary 
(and if they are not thus transferred, will any one, in the light 
of the types, and in view of the language of Paul, explain the 
nature of the work of Christ in our behalf ?) — this continual 
transfer, we say, of sins to the heavenly sanctuary, makes its 
cleansing necessary on the same ground that a like work was 
required in the earthly sanctuary. 

An important distinction between the two ministrations 
must here be noticed. In the earthly tabernacle, a complete 
round of service was accomplished every year. For three 
hundred and fifty-nine days, hi their ordinary years, the minis- 
tration went forward in the first apartment. One day's work 
in the most holy completed the yearly round. The work then 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 13, 14. 177' 

commenced again in the holy place, and went forward till 
another day of atonement completed the year's work. And sO' 
on, year by year. This continual repetition of the work was 
necessary on account of the short lives of mortal priests. But 
no such necessity exists in the case of our divine Lord, who 
ever liveth to make intercession for us. (See Heb. 7 : 23-25.) 
Hence the work of the heavenly sanctuary, instead of being a 
yearly work, is performed once for all. Instead of being 
repeated year by year, one grand cycle is allotted to it, in 
which it is carried forward, and finished, never to be 
repeated 

One year's round of service in the earthly sanctuary repre- 
sented the entire work of the sanctuary above. In the type, 
the cleansing of the sanctuary was the brief closing work of 
the year's service. In the antitype, the cleansing of the 
sanctuary must be the closing work of Christ, our great High 
Priest, in the tabernacle on high. In the type, to cleanse the 
sanctuary, the high priest entered into the most holy place to 
minister in the presence of God before the ark of his testament. 
In the antitype, when the time comes for the cleansing of the 
sanctuary, our High Priest, in like manner, enters into the 
most holy place to make a final end of his intercessory work in 
behalf of mankind. We confidently affirm that no other con- 
clusion can be arrived at on this subject without doing despite 
to the unequivocal testimony of God's word. 

Reader, do you now see the importance of this subject ? Do 
you begin to perceive what an object^of interest for all the world 
is the sanctuary of God ? Do you see that the whole work of 
salvation centers there, and that when the work is done, pro- 
bation is ended, and the cases of the saved and lost are eter- 
nally decided ? Do you see that the cleansing of the sanctuary 
is a brief and special work, by which the great scheme is for- 
ever finished ? Do you see that if it can be made known when 
this work of cleansing commences, it is a solemn announcement 
to the world that salvation's last hour is reached, and is fast 
hastening to its close ? And this is what the prophecy is de- 
signed to show, It is to make known the commencement of 



178 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

this momentous work. "Unto two thousand and three hundred 
days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." 

In advance of any argument on the nature and application 
of these days, the position may be safely taken that they reach 
to the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, for the earthly was 
to be cleansed each year; and we make the prophet utter non- 
sense, if we understand him as saying that at the end of 2300 
days, a period of time over six years in length, even if we take 
them literally, an event should take place which was to occur 
regularly every year. The heavenly sanctuary is the one in 
which the decision of all cases is to be rendered. The prog- 
ress of the work there is what it especially concerns mankind 
to know. If people understood the bearing of these subjects 
on their eternal interests, with what earnestness and anxiety 
would they give them their most careful and prayerful study. 
See on chapter 9 : 20 and onward, an argument on the 2300 
days, showing at what point they terminated, and when the 
solemn work of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began. 

Verse 15. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel,- had seen the 
vision, and soiiglit for the meaning, then, beliold, there stood before me 
as the appearance of a man. 16. And I heard a man's voice between the 
banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to under- 
stand the vision. 

. We now enter upon an interpretation of the vision. And 
first of all we have mention of Daniel's solicitude, and his 
efforts to imdcrstand these things. He sought for the meaning. 
Those who have given to prophetic subjects their careful and 
earnest attention, are not the ones w^ho are unconcerned in such 
matters. They only can tread with indifference over a mine 
of gold, who do not know that a bed of precious metal lies 
})eneath their feet. Immediately there stood before the prophet 
as the appearance of a man. The text does not say it was a 
man, as some would fain have us think, who wish to prove that 
angels are dead men, and who resort to such texts as this for 
their evidence. It says, "The appearance of a man," from 
which we are evidently to understand an angel in human form. 
And lie heard a man's voice; that is, the voice of an angel, as 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 15-19. 179 

of a man, speaking. The commandment given was, to make 
this man, Daniel, understand the vision. It was addressed to 
Gabriel, a name that signifies "the mighty one." He con- 
tinues his instruction to Daniel in chapter 9. Under the new 
dispensation he was commissioned to announce the birth of 
John the Baptist to his father Zacharias (Luke 1 : 11); and that 
of the Messiah to the virgin Mary, verse 26. To Zacharias, he 
introduced himself with these words : "I am Gabriel, that 
stand in the presence of God." From this it appears that he 
was an angel of a high order and superior dignity; but tlie one 
who here addressed him was evidently higher in rank, and had 
power to command and control his actions. This was probably 
no other than the archangel Michael, or Chi'ist, between whom 
and Gabriel, alone, a knowledge of the matters communicated 
to Daniel existed. (See chapter 10 : 21.) 

Veese 17. So he came near where I stood : and when he came, I was 
afraid, and fell upon my face : but he said unto me. Understand, O son of 
man : for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 18. Xow as he was 
speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground : 
but he touched me, and set me upright. 19. And he said, Behold, I will 
make thee know Avhat shall be in the last end of the indignation : for at 
the time appointed the end shall be. 

Under similar circumstances to those here narrated, John 
fell down before the feet of an angel, but it was for the pur- 
pose of worship. Rev. 19 : 10 ; 22 : 8. Daniel seems to have 
been completely overcome by the majesty of the heavenly mes- 
senger. He prostrated himself with his face to the ground, 
probably as though in a deep sleep, but not really so. Sorrow, 
it is true, caused the disciples to sleep ; but fear, as in this 
case, would hardly have that effect. The angel gently laid 
his hand upon him to give him assurance (how many times 
have mortals been told by heavenly beings to "fear not" ! ), 
and from this helpless and prostrate condition set him upright. 
With a general statement that at the time appointed the end 
shall be, and that he will make him know what shall be in the 
last end of the indignation, he' enters upon an interpretation of 
the vision. The indignation must be understood to cover a pe- 



180 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

riod of time. What time ? God told his people Israel that he 
would pour upon them his indignation for their wickedness ; 
and thus he gave directions concerning the ' ' profane wicked 
prince of Israel:" ^'Kemove the diadem, and take off the 
crown. ... I will overturn, overturn, overturn it : and it 
shall be no more, until he come whose right it is ; and I will 
give it him." Eze. 21 : 25-27, 31. 

Here is the period of God's indignation against his cove- 
nant people ; the period during which the sanctuary, and host 
are to be trodden under foot. The diadem was removed, and 
the crown taken off, when Israel was subjected to the kingdom 
of Babylon. It was overturned again by the Medes and Per- 
sians, again by the Grecians, again by the Komans, correspond- 
ing to the three times the word is repeated by the prophet. 
The Jews then having rejected Christ, were soon scattered 
abroad over the face of the earth ; and spiritual Israel has 
taken the place of the literal seed, but they are in subjection 
to earthly powers, and will be till the throne of David is again 
set up, — till He who is its rightful heir, the Messiah, the Prince 
of peace, shall come, and then it will be given him. Then the 
indignation will have ceased. What shall take place in the 
last end of this period, the angel is now to make known to 
Daniel. 

Verse 20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings 
of Media and Persia. 21. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia : and 
the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22. Now that 
being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up 
out of the nation, but not in his power. 

As the disciples said to the Lord, so may we here say of the 
angel who spake to Daniel, '^Lo, now speakest thou plainly, 
and speakest no proverb." This is an explanation of the vision 
in language as plain as need be given. (See on verses 3-8.) 
The distinguishing feature of the Persian empire, the union of 
the two nationalities which composed it, is represented by the 
two horns of the ram. Grecia attained its greatest glory as a 
unit under the leadership of Alexander the Great, a general as 
famous as the world has ever seen. This pai-t of her history is 



CHAPTER 8, VERSES 20-25. 181 

represented by the first phase of the goat, during which time 
the one notable horn symbolized Alexander the Great. Upon. 
his death, the kingdom fell into fragments, but almost imme- 
diately consolidated into four grand divisions, represented by 
the second phase of the goat, when it had four horns which 
came up in the place of the first, which was broken. These 
divisions did not stand in his power. !None of them possessed 
the strength of the original kingdom. These great waymarks 
in history, on which the historian bestows volumes, the inspired 
penman here gives us in sharp outline, with a few strokes of 
the pencil and a few dashes of the pen. 

Yeese 23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the trans- 
gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and under- 
standing dark sentences, shall stand up. 24. And his power shall be 
mighty, but not bj^ his own power : and he shall destroy wonderfully, 
and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the 
holy people. 25. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to 
prosper in his hand : and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by 
peace shall destroy' many : he shall also stand up against the Prince of 
princes ; but he shall be broken without hand. 

This power succeeds to the four divisions of the goat king- 
dom in the latter time of theii' kingdom, that is, toward the 
termination of theii- career. It is, of course, the same as the 
little horn of verse 9 and onward. Apply it to Kome, as set 
forth in remarks on verse 9, and all is harmonious and clear. 

' ' A king of fierce countenance. " Moses, in predicting pun- 
ishment to come upon the Jews from this same power, calls it 
"a nation of fierce countenance." Deut. 28:49, 50. No 
people made a more formidable appearance in warlike array 
than the Romans. " Understanding dark sentences. " Moses, 
in the scripture just referred to says, ' ' Whose tongue thou 
shalt not understand." This could not be said of the Babylo- 
nians, Persians, or Greeks, in reference to the Jews ; for the 
Chaldean and Greek languages were used to a greater or less 
extent in Palestine. This was not the case, however, with the 
Latin. 

^ ' When the transgressors are come to the full. ' ' All along, 
the connection between God's people and their oppressors is 



182 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

kept in view. It was on account of the transgressions of liis 
people that they were sold into captivity. And their continu- 
ance in sin brought more and more severe punishment. At no 
time were the Jew^s more corrupt, morally, as a nation, than at 
the time they came under the jurisdiction of the Romans. 

*' Mighty, but not by his own power." The success of the 
Romans was owing largely to the aid of their allies, and divi- 
sions among their enemies, of which they were ever ready to 
take advantage. 

' ' He shall destroy wonderfully. ' ' The Lord told the Jews 
by the prophet Ezekiel that he would deliver them to men who 
were "skilful to destroy." How full of meaning is such a 
description, and how applicable to the Romans ! In taking Je- 
rusalem, they slew eleven hundred thousand Jews, and made 
ninety-seven thousand captives. So wonderfully did they de- 
stroy this once mighty and holy people. 

And what they could not accomplish by force, they secured 
by artifice. Their flatteries, fraud, and corruption were as fatal 
as their thunderbolts of war. And Rome, finally, in the per- 
son of one of its governors, stood up against the Prince of 
princes, by giving sentence of death against Jesus Clirist. 
"But he shall be broken without hand," an expression which 
identifies the destruction of this power with the smiting of the 
image of chapter 2. 

Verse 2G. And the vision of the evening and the morning which 
was told is true ; wherefore shut thou up tlie vision ; for it shall be for 
many days. 27. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days ; after- 
ward I rose up, and did the king's business ; and I was astonished at the 
vision, but none understood it. 

"The vision of the evening and the morning, " is that of tlie 
2300 days. In view of the long period of oppression, and the 
calamities which were to come upon his people, Daniel fainted, 
and was sick certain days. He was astonished at the vision, 
but did not understand it. Why did not Gabriel at this time 
fully carry out his instructions, and cause Daniel to understand 
the vision? — Because Daniel had received all that he could tlien 
bear. Further instruction is therefore deferred to a future time. 



Q^prml'r^/x 





Terse 1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the 
seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 
2. In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number 
of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, 
that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 



^/HE vision recorded in the preceding chapter was given in 
^ il the third year of Belshazzar, b. o. 538. In the same 
tj y^^i"? which was also the first of Darius, the events 
narrated in this chapter occurred. Consequently, less than 
one year is passed over between these two chapters. Although 
Daniel, as prime minister of the foremost kingdom on the face 
of the earth, was cumbered with cares and burdens, he did not 
let this deprive him of the privilege of studying into things of 
higher moment, even the purposes of God as revealed to his 
prophets. He understood by books, that is, the writings of 
Jeremiah, that God would accomplish seventy years in the 
captivity of his people. This prediction is found in Jer. 25 : 
12; 29 : 10. The knowledge of it, and the use that was made 
of it, shows that Jeremiah was early regarded as a divinely 
inspired prophet; otherwise his writings would not have been 
so soon collected, and so extensively copied. Though Daniel 
was for a time contemporary with him, he had a copy of his 
works which he carried with him in his captivity; and though 
he was so great a prophet himself, he was not above studying 
carefully what God might reveal to others of his servants. 

[183] 



184 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Commencing the seventy years b. c. 606, Daniel understood 
that they were now drawing to their termination; and God had 
even commenced the fulfilment by overthrowing the kingdom 
of Babylon. 

Verse 3. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer 
and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. 

Because God has promised, we are not released from the 
responsibility of beseeching him for the fulfilment of his word. 
Daniel might have reasoned in this manner : God has promised 
to release his people at the end of the seventy years, and he 
will accomplish this promise ; I need not therefore concern 
myself at all in the matter. Daniel did not thus reason; but 
as the time drew near for the accomplishment of the word of 
the Lord, he set himself to seek the Lord with all his heart. 
And how earnestly he engaged in the work, even with fasting, 
and sackcloth, and ashes ! This was the year, probably, in 
which he was cast into the lion's den; and the prayer of which 
we here have an account, may have been the burden of that 
petition, which, regardless of the unrighteous human law which 
had been secured to the contrary, he offered before the Lord 
three times a day. 

Verse 4. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my con- 
fession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the cove- 
nant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his 
commandments. 

We here have the opening of Daniel's wonderful prayer, — 
a prayer expressing such humiliation and contrition of heart 
that one must be without feeling who can read it unmoved. He 
commences by acknowledging the faithfulness of God. God 
never fails in any of his engagements with his followers. It 
was not from any lack on God's part in defending and up- 
holding them, that the Jews were then in the furnace of cap- 
tivity, but only on account of their sins. 

Verse 5. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have 
done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts 
and from thy judgments : 6. Neither have we liearkenod unto thy serv- 
ants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, 



CHAPTER!), VERSES 1-14. 185 

and our fathers, and to all the people of the land 7. O Lord, right- 
eousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this 
day ; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto 
all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries 
whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have 
trespassed against thee. 8. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, 
to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned 
against thee. 9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, 
though we have rebelled against him; 10. Neither have we obeyed the 
voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us 
by his servants the prophets. 11. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy 
law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore 
the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of 
Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12. And 
he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our 
judges that judged us, b}^ bringing upon us a great evil: for under the 
whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 
13. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet 
made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn 
from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14. Therefore hath the 
Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our 
(God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not 
ihis voice. 

To this point Daniel's prayer is employed in making a full 
and heart-broken confession of sin. He vindicates fully the 
course of the Lord, acknowledging their sins to be the cause of 
all their calamities, as God had threatened them by the prophet 
Moses. And he does not discriminate in favor of himself. No 
self-righteousness appears in his petition. And although he 
had suffered long for others' sins, enduring seventy years of 
captivity for the wrongs of his people, himself meanwhile living 
a godly life, and receiving signal honors and blessings from the 
Lord, he brings no accusations against any one to the exclu- 
sion of others, pleads no sympathy for himself as a victim of 
others' wrongs, but ranks himself in with the rest, and says, 
We have sinned, and unto ics belongs confusion of face. And 
he acknowledges that they had not heeded the lessons God 
designed to teach them by their afflictions, by turning again 
unto him. 

An expression in the 14th verse is worthy of especial 
notice : ' ' Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, 
and brought it upon us." Because sentence against an evil 



186 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons 
of men are fully set in them to do evil. But none may think 
that the Lord does not see, or that he has forgotten. His 
retributions will surely overtake the transgressor, against whom 
they are threatened, without deviation and without fail. He 
will watch upon the evil, and in his own good time will bring 
it to pass. 

Verse 15. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people 
forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee 
renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16. O 
Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger 
and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: 
because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and 
thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17. Now there- 
fore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, 
and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for 
the Lord's sake. 18. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear ; open thine 
eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy 
name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our right- 
eousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; 
O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy 
city and thy people are called by thy name. 

The prophet now pleads the honor of the Lord's name as a 
reason why he desires that his petition should be granted. He 
refers to the fact of their deliverance from Egypt, and the great 
renown that had accrued to the Lord's name for all his won- 
derful works manifested among them. All this would be lost, 
should he now abandon them to perish. Moses used the same 
argument in pleading for Israel. Numbers 14. Not that God 
is moved with motives of ambition and vainglory; but when his 
people are jealous for the honor of his name, when they evince 
their love for him by pleading with him to work, not for their 
own personal benefit, but for his own glory, that his name may 
not be reproached and blasphemed among the heathen, this is 
acceptable with him. Daniel then intercedes for the city of 
Jerusalem, called by God's name, and his holy mountain, for 
which he has had such love, and beseeches him, for his mer- 
cies' sake, to let his anger be turned away. Finally, his mind 
centers upon the lioly sanctuary, God's own dwelling-place 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 15-21. 18? 

upon this earth, and he pleads that its desolations may be 
repaired. 

Daniel understood the seventy years of captivity to be near 
their termination. From his allusion to the sanctuary, it is 
evident that he so far misunderstood the important vision given 
him in chapter 8, as to suppose that the 2300 days, at the ter- 
mination of which the sanctuary was to be cleansed, expired at 
the same time. This misapprehension was at once corrected, 
when the angel came to give him further instruction in answer 
to his prayer, the narration of which is next given. 

Verse 20. And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing 
my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication 
before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God: 21. Yea, 
whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen 
in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me 
about the time of the evening oblation. 

We here have the result of Daniel's supplication. He is 
suddenly interrupted by a heavenly messenger. The angel 
Gabriel, appearing again as he had before, in the form of a 
man, whom Daniel had seen in the vision at the beginning, 
touched him. A very important question is at this point to be 
determined. It is to be decided whether the vision of chapter 
8 has ever been explained, and can ever be understood. The 
question is, To what vision does Daniel refer by the expression, 
*' the vision at the beginning" ? It will be conceded by all 
that it is a vision of which we have some previous record, and 
that in that vision we shall find some mention of Gabriel. We 
must go back beyond this ninth chapter; for all that we have 
in this chapter previous to this appearance of Gabriel, is simply 
a record of Daniel's prayer. Looking back, then, through 
previous chapters, we find mention of only three visions given 
to Daniel. 1. The interpretation of the dream of Nebuchad- 
nezzar was given in a night vision. Chapter 2 : 19. But there 
is no record of any angelic agency in the matter. 2. The 
vision of chapter 7. This was explained to Daniel by '^ one of 
of them that stood by," probably an angel; but we have no 
information as to what angel, nor is there anything in that 
15 m 



188 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

vision which needed further explanation. 3. The vision of 
chapter 8. Here we find some particulars which show this to 
be the vision referred to. 1. Gabriel is there first brought to 
view by name in the book, and the only time previous to this 
occasion. 2. He was commanded to make Daniel understand 
the vision. 3. Daniel, at the conclusion, says he did not under- 
stand it, showing that Gabriel, at the conclusion of chapter 8, 
had not fulfilled his mission. There is no place in all the Bible 
where this instruction is carried out, if it be not in chapter 9. 
If, therefore, the vision of chapter 8 is not the one referred to, 
we have no record that Gabriel ever complied with the instruc- 
tions given him, or that that vision has ever been explained. 
5. The instruction which the angel now gives to Daniel, as we 
shall see from the following verses, does exactly complete what 
was lacking in chapter 8. These considerations prove beyond 
a doubt the connection between Daniel 8 and 9 ; and this con- 
clusion will be still further strengthened by a consideration of 
the angel's instructions. 

Verse 22. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O 
Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23. At 
the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I 
am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore, understand 
the matter, and consider the vision. 

The manner in which Gabriel introduces himself on this 
occasion, shows that he has come to complete some unfulfilled 
mission. This can be nothing less than to carry out the 
instruction to make this man "understand the vision," as 
recorded in chapter 8. "I am now come forth to give thee 
skill and understanding. ' ' As the charge still rested upon him 
to make Daniel understand, and as he explained to Daniel in 
chapter 8 all that he could then bear, and yet he did not under- 
stand the vision, he now comes to resume his work and com- 
plete his mission. As soon as Daniel commenced his fervent 
supplication, the commandment came forth ; that is, Gabriel 
received instruction to visit Daniel, and impart to him the 
requisite information. From the time it takes to read Daniel's 
prayer down to the point at which Gabriel made his appearance 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 22, 23. 189 

upon the scene, the reader can judge of the speed with which 
this messenger was despatched from the court of heaven to this 
seryant of God. No wonder that Daniel says he was caused 
to % swiftly, or that Ezekiel compares the movements of these 
celestial beings to a flash of lightning. Eze. 1 : 14. '^Under- 
stand the matter," he says to Daniel. What matter? — That, 
evidently, which he did not before understand, as stated in the 
last verse of chapter 8. " Consider the vision." What vision ? 
Not the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's image, nor the 
vision of chapter 7, for there was no difliculty with either of 
these; but the vision of chapter 8, in reference to which his 
mind was filled with doubt and astonishment. ' ' I am come 
to show thee," also said the angel. Show thee in reference 
to what ? — Certainly in reference to something wherein he was 
entertaining wrong ideas, and something, at the same time, 
pertaining to his prayer, as it was this which had called forth 
Gabriel on his mission at this time. 

But Daniel had no difficulty in understanding what the 
angel told him about the ram, he -goat, and little horn, the 
kingdoms of Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Nor was he 
mistaken in regard to the ending of the seventy years' captivity. 
But the burden of his petition was respecting the repairing of 
the desolations of the sanctuary, which lay in ruins ; and he 
had undoubtedly drawn the conclusion that when the end of 
the seventy years' captivity came, the time would come for the 
fulfilment of what the angel had said respecting the cleansing 
of the sanctuary at the end of the 2300 days. Now he must 
be set right. And this explains why at this particular time, 
so soon after the previous vision, instruction was sent to him. 
Now the seventy years of captivity were drawing to their 
close, and Daniel was applying to a wrong issue the instruction 
he had before received from the angel. He was falling into a 
misunderstanding, and was acting upon it ; hence he must not 
be suffered longer to remain ignorant of the true import of the 
former vision. ' ' I am come to show thee ; " " understand the 
matter ; " " consider the vision. ' ' Such were the words used 
by the very person Daniel had seen in the former vision, and 



190 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

to whom he had heard the command given, ' ' Make this man to 
understand the vision," and who, he knew, had never carried 
out that instruction. But now he appears, and says, <'I am 
now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." How 
could Daniel's mind be more emphatically carried back to the 
vision of chapter 8, and how could the connection between that 
visit of the angel and this be more distinctly shown, than by 
such words at such a time from such a person ? The consider- 
ations already presented are sufficient to show conclusively the 
connection between chapters 8 and 9 ; but this will still further 
appear in subsequent verses. 

One expression seems worthy of notice before we leave 
verse 23. It is the declaration of the angel to Daniel, "For 
thou art greatly beloved. ' ' The angel brought this declaration 
direct from the courts of heaven. It expressed the state of 
feeling that existed there in regard to Daniel. Think of 
celestial beings, the highest in the universe, — the Father, the 
Son, the holy angels, — having such regard and esteem for a 
mortal man here upon earth as to authorize an angel to bear 
the message to him that he is greatly beloved ! This is one 
of the highest pinnacles of glory to which mortals can attain. 
Abraham reached another, when it could be said of him that he 
was the "friend of God ; " and Enoch another, when it could 
be said of him that he " walked with God." Can we arrive at 
any such attainments ? God is no respecter of person ; but he 
is a respecter of character. If in virtue and godliness we could 
equal these eminent men, we could move the divine love to 
equal depths. We, too, could be greatly beloved, — could be 
friends of God, and could walk with him. And we must be in 
our generation what they were in theirs. There is a figure 
used in reference to the last church which denotes the closest 
union with God : "If any man hear my voice, and open the 
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he 
with me." Eev. 3 : 20. To sup with the Lord denotes an 
intimacy equal to being greatly beloved by him, walking with 
him, or being his friend. How desirable a position ! Alas for 
the evils of our nature, which cut us off from this communion ! 



Ml 



> Tv- 



y% 









C 



c 



cu 



00 



2rt 

O 






£1. 



Ho 



£■£,-5 
- « 






' e 

a 



I e 



§2 






"* -O Q O 













CA 




>:: 


>• 




c 


< 




£ 


a 




•c 






c 


o 




5 


o 




a 












c 


O 


!^ 


H 


z 


h 


«^ 


< 








■~ 


• 


CA 




s .1 


02 
U 


Ml 


e 1 

2 i 
^ . 3 


o 


i(^ c 5 


"= ? - 




ci El 


^ 1 i 


r 


III 


m 


0. 


11 "^ 


o 

c 
< 

0( 






o 


^1 ^1 


i II H 


< 


•= C ac ^ 




5 






tore and 
. Work 
weeks, or 
k. Chri 




lUi 


!ir"5| 




« ^ 00 — 






- ^ 3 13 


o "^ c 2J ^ r 




Of conin 
>f 7 we 
f 62 pi 
or mid 






° o ^ 


ilUI 




Date 

. End 

Knd 

, MtdR 




"£•-•" 


4 <£ d d ^ 




u> O ei ee 


ee e ec e or 






^ us S JC 




(J w s s 


s s = s a 





CHAPTER 9, VERSE 24. 191 

Oil for grace to overcome these ! that we may enjoy this 
spiritual union here, and finally enter the glories of his pres- 
ence at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 

Verse 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon 
thy hoi}' city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and 
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteous- 
ness, and to seal uj) the vision and prophec3% and to anoint the most 
Holy. 

Such are the first words the angel utters to Daniel, toward 
imparting to him that instruction which he came to give. Why 
does he thus abruptly introduce a period of time ? We must 
again refer to the vision of chapter 8. We have seen that 
Daniel, at the close of that chapter, says that he did not 
understand the vision. Some portions of that vision were at 
the time very clearly explained. It could not have been these 
portions which he did not understand. We therefore inquire 
what it was which Daniel did not understand, or, in other 
words, what part of the vision was there left unexplained. 
In that vision four prominent things are brought to view : 
(1) The Ram; (2) The He-goat; (3) The Little Horn; (4) The 
period of the 2300 days. The symbols of the ram, the he-goat, 
and the little horn were explained. Nothing, however, was 
said respecting the time. This must therefore have been the 
point which he did not understand; and as without this the 
other portions of the vision were of no avail, he could well 
say, while the application of this period was left in obscurity, 
that he did not understand the vision. 

If this view of the subject is correct, we should naturally 
expect, when the angel completed his explanation of the vision, 
that he would commence with the very point which had been 
omitted ; namely, the time. And this we find to be true in 
fact. After citing Daniel's attention back to the former vision 
in the most direct and emphatic manner, and assuring him 
that he had now come forth to give him understanding in the 
matter, he commences upon the very point there omitted, and 
says, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and- 
upon thy holy city." 



192 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

But how does this language show any connection with 
tlie 2300 days, or throw any light upon that period? We 
answer : The language cannot be intelligibly referred to any- 
thing else; for the word here rendered determined signifies 
''cut off;" and there is no period from which the seventy 
weeks could be cut off but the 2300 days of the previous vision. 
How direct and natural, then, is the connection. Daniel's 
attention is fixed upon the 2300 days, which he did not under- 
stand, by the angel's directing him to the former vision; and 
he says, " Seventy weeks are cut off." Cut off from what ? — 
The 2300 days, most assuredly. 

Proof may be called for that the word rendered determined 
signifies to cut off. An abundance can be given. The Hebrew 
word thus translated is ^^'^■:?, nehhtah. This word Gesenius, in 
his Hebrew Lexicon, defines as follows: "Properly, to cut 
off; tropically, to divide; and so to determine, to decree." In 
the Chaldeo-Kabbinic Dictionary of Stockius, the word nehhtak 
is thus defined : " Scidit, abscidit, conscidit, inscidit, exscidit — 
to cut^ to cut away, to cut in pieces, to cut or engrave, to cut 
off,^^ Mercerus, in his Thesaurus, furnishes a specimen of 
Rabbinical usage in the phrase, hhatihah shel hasm\ ^ ' a piece 
of flesh," or, "a cut of flesh." He translates the word, as it 
occurs in Dan. 9:24, by " prgecisa est," is cut off. In the 
literal version of Arias Montanus it is translated " decisa est," 
IS cut off; in the marginal reading, which is grammatically 
correct, it is rendered by the plural, " decisae sunt," are cut 
off. In the Latin version of Junius and Tremellius, nehhtak 
(the passive of hhathaJc) is rendered " decisse sunt," are cutoff. 
Again, in Theodotion's Greek version of Daniel (which is the 
version used in the Vatican copy of the Septuagint, as being 
the most faithful), it is rendered by oviET/iridrjaav (sunetniethemn)^ 
were cut off; and in the Venetian copy by reTfirjvrai ^tetmentai)^ 
have been cut.^^ The idea of cutting off' is preserved in the 
Yulgate, where the phrase is " abbreviatie sunt," are shortened. 

<' Thus Chaldaic and Rabbinical authority, and that of the 
earliest versions, the Septuagint and Yulgate, give the single 
signification of cutting off, to this verb." 



CHAPTER 9, VERSE 21. 133 

» ' Hengstenberg, who enters into a critical examination of 
the original text, says : ' But the very use of the word, which 
does not elsewhere occur, while others much more frequently 
used, were at hand if Daniel had wished to express the idea of 
determination, and of whicl^he has elsewhere, and even in this 
portion availed himself, seems to argue that the word stands 
from regard to its original meaning, and represents the seventy 
weeks in contrast with a determination of time ( en platei ) as a 
period cut off from subsequent duration, and accurately lim- 
ited.'" — Christology of the Old Testament^ Vol. II, i?. SOI. 
Washington^ 1839. 

Why, then, it may be asked, did our translators render the 
word determined^ when it so obviously means cut off? The 
answer is, They doubtless overlooked the connection between 
the eighth and ninth chapters, and considering it improper to 
render it cut off, when nothing was given from which the 
seventy weeks could be cut off, thsy gave the word its tropical 
instead of its literal meaning. But, as we have seen, the con- 
struction, the context, and the connection require the literal 
meaning, and render any other inadmissible. 

Seventy weeks, then, or 490 days of the 2300, were cut off 
upon, or allotted to, Jerusalem and the Jews; and the events 
which were to be consummated within that period are briefly 
stated. The transgression was to be finished; that is, the 
Jewish people were to fill up the cup of their iniquity, which 
they did in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ. An end of 
sins, or of sin-offerings, was to be made. This took place when 
the great offering was made on Calvary. Beconciliation for 
iniquity was to be provided. This was made by the sacrificial 
death of the Son of God. Everlasting righteousness was to be 
brought in; the righteousness which our Lord manifested in 
his sinless life. The vision and the prophecy were to be sealed 
up, or made sure. ^ By the events given to transpire in the 
seventy weeks, the prophecy is tested. By this the application 
of the whole vision is determined. If the events of this period 
are accurately fulfilled, the prophecy is of God, and will all be 
accomplished ; and if ' these seventy weeks are fulfilled as weeks 



194 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

of years, then the 2300 days, of which these are a part, are so 
many years. Thus the events of the seventy weeks furnish a 
key to the whole vision. And the ' ' most holy ' ' was to be 
anointed; the most holy of the heavenly sanctuary. In the 
examination of the sanctuary, on«chapter 8 : 14, we saw that 
a time came when the earthly sanctuary gave place to the 
heavenly, and the priestly ministration was transferred to that. 
Before the ministration in the sanctuary commenced, the sanc- 
tuary and all the holy vessels were to be anointed. Ex. 40 : 9, 
10. The last event, therefore, of the seventy weeks, here 
brought to view, is the anointing of the heavenly tabernacle, 
or the opening of the ministration there. Thus this first 
division of the 2300 days brings us to the commencement 
of the service in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, 
as the whole period brings us to the commencement of the 
service in the second apartment, or most holy place, of that 
sanctuary. 

The argument must now be considered conclusive that the 
ninth chapter of Daniel explains the eighth, and that the 
seventy weeks are a part of the 2300 days; and with a few 
extracts from the writings of others we will leave this point. 

The Advent Shield in 1844 said: — 

''We call attention to one fact which shows that there is a 
necessary ' connection ' between the seventy weeks of the ninth 
chapter, and something else which precedes or follows it, called 
Hhe vision.'' It is found in the 24th verse: ' Seventy weeks 
are determined [ are cut off ] upon thy people, ... to seal up 
the vision,' etc. ]^[ow there are but two significations to the 
phrase 'seal up.' They are, first, 'to make secret,' and sec- 
ond, ' to make sure. ' We care not now in which of these sig- 
nifications the phrase is supposed to be used. That is not the 
point now before us. Let the signification be what it may, it 
shows that the prediction of the seventy weeks necessai-ily re- 
lates to something else beyond itself, called 'the vision,' in 
reference to which it performs this work, ' to seal up. ' To talk 
of its sealing up itself is as much of an absurdity as to suppose 
that Josephus was so much afraid of the Romans that he re- 



CHAPTER 9, VERSE 24. 195 

fraihed from telling the world that he thought the fourth king- 
dom of Daniel was ^ the kingdom of the Greeks.' It is no 
more proper to saj that the ninth chapter of Daniel ^ is com- 
plete in itself, ' than it would be to say that a map which was 
designed to show the relation of Massachusetts to the United 
States, referred to nothing but Massachusetts. It is no more 
complete in itself than a bond given in security for a note, or 
some other document to which it refers, is complete in itself ; 
and we doubt if there is a schoolboy of fourteen years in the 
land, of ordinary capacity, who would not, on reading the 
ninth chapter, with an understanding of the clause before us, 
decide that it referred to something distinct from itself, called 
the vision. What vision it is, there is no difficulty in deter- 
mining. It naturally and obviously refers to the vision which 
was not fully explained to Daniel, and to which Gabriel calls 
his attention in the preceding verse, — the msion of the 8th 
chapter, Daniel tells us that Gabriel was commanded to make 
him understand that vision (8:16). This was not fully done 
at that interview connected with the vision ; he is therefore sent 
to give Daniel the needed ^ skill and understanding,' — to ex- 
plain its ' meaning ' by communicating to him the prediction of 
the seventy weeks." 

"We claim that the ninth of Daniel is an appendix to the 
eighth, and that the seventy weeks and the 2300 days, or years, 
commence together. Oit7' oj>;ponents deny this.^^ — Signs of 
the Times, ISJ^S. 

' ' The grand principle involved in the interpretation of the 
2300 days of Dan. 8 : Itt, is that the seventy weeks of Dan. 
9 : 24 are the first 490 days of the 2300 of the eighth chapter." 
— Advent Shield, p. ^9. 

' ' If the connection between the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 
and the 2300 days of Daniel 8 does not exist, the whole system 
is shaken to its foundation; if it does exist, as we suppose, the 
system must standi — Harmony of the Prophetic Chronology, 
p. 33. 

Says the learned Dr. Hales, in commenting upon the 
seventy weeks, ' ' This chronological prophecy was evidently 



190 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

designed to explain the foregoing vision, especially in its chro- 
nological part of the '2'dOO days.'' — Chronolixjy^ Vol. 11^ j). 517. 

Verse 25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth 
of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah 
the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks : the 
street shall be built again^ and the wall, even in troublous times. 26. 
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for 
himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the 
city and the sanctuary ; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, 
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27. And he 
shall confirm the covenant with many for one week : and in the midst of 
the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for 
the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until 
the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the 
desolate. 

The angel now gives to Daniel the event which is to mark 
the commencement of the seventy weeks. They were to date 
from the going forth of the commandnient to restore and build 
Jerusalem. And not only is the event given which was to de- 
termine the time of the commencement of this period, but those 
events also which were to transpire at its close. Thus a double 
test is provided by which to try the application of this prophecy. 
But more than this, the period of seventy weeks is divided 
into three grand divisions, and one of these is again divided, 
and the intermediate events are given which were to mark the 
termination of each one of these divisions. If, now, we can find 
a date which will harmonize with all these events, we have, be- 
yond a doubt, the true application ; for none but that which is 
correct could meet and fulfil so many conditions. Let the 
reader take in at one view the points of harmony to be made, 
that he may be the better prepared to guard against a false 
application. First, we are to find, at the commencement of 
the period, a commandment going forth to restore and build 
Jerusalem. To this work of restoration seven weeks are 
allotted. As we reach the end of this first division, seven 
weeks from the commencement, we are to find, secondly, Jeru- 
salem, in its material aspect, restored, the work of building 
the street and the wall fully accomplished. From this point 
sixty-two weeks are measured ott' ; and as we reach the tormina- 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 197 

tion of this division, sixty-nine weeks from the beginning, we 
are to see, thirdly, the manifestation before the world of the 
Messiah the Prince. One week more is given us, completing 
the seventy. Fourthly, in the midst of this week the Messiah 
is to be cut off, and to cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease; 
and, fifthly, when the last week of that period which was 
allotted to the Jews as the time during which they were to be 
the special people of God expires, we naturally look ior the 
going forth of the blessing and work of God to other people. 

We now inquire for the initial date which will harmonize 
with all these particulars. The command respecting Jerusalem 
was to include more than mere building. There was to be 
restoration; and by this we must understand -all the forms and 
regulations of civil, political, and judicial society. When did 
such a command go forth? At the time these words were 
spoken to Daniel, Jerusalem lay in complete and utter desola- 
tion, and had thus been lying for seventy years. The restora- 
tion, pointed to in the future, must be its restoration from this 
desolation. We then inquire, When and how was Jerusalem 
restored after the seventy years' captivity ? 

There are but four events which can be taken as answering 
to the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. These 
are, (1) The decree of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the house of 
God, B. c. 536 (Ezra 1 : 1-4); (2) The decree of Darius for the 
prosecution of that work, which had been hindered, b. o. 519 
(Ezra 6 : 1-12); (3) The decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra, b. o. 457 
(Ezra 7) ; and (4) The commission to Nehemiah from the same 
king in his twentieth year, b. c. 414. Nehemiah 2. 

Dating from the first two of these decrees, the seventy 
weeks, being weeks of years, ^ 490 years in all, would fall 



1 The explanation of these prophetic periods is based on what is called the 
"year-day principle;" that is, making each day stand for a year, according to 
the Scriptural rule for the application of symbolic time. Eze. 4:6; Num. 14:34. 
That the time in these visions of Daniel 8 and 9 is symbolic is evident from the 
nature and scope of the prophecy. The question calling out the answers on this 
point was, ''How long the vision ? " The vision, reckoning from 538 b. c. to our own 
time, sweeps over a period more than 2400 years in length. But if the 2300 days of 
the vision are literal days, we have a period of only a little over six years and a 
half for the duration of the kingdoms and the transaction of the great events 
brought to view, which is absurd ! The year-day principle numbers among its sup- 



198 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

many years short of reaching even to the Christian era; besides, 
these decrees had reference principally to the restoration of 
the temple and the temple-worship of the Jews, and not to 
the restoration of their civil state and polity, all of which 
must be included in the expression, ' ' To restore and to build 
Jerusalem." 

These made a commencement of the work. They were 
preliminary to what was afterward accomplished. But of 
themselves they were altogether insufficient, both in their dates 
and in their nature, to meet the requirements of the prophecy; 
and thus failing in every respect, they cannot be brought into 
the controversy as marking the point from which the seventy 
weeks are to date. The only question now lies between the 
decrees which were granted to Ezra and to Nehemiah re- 
spectively. 

The facts between which we are to decide here are briefly 
these: In 457 b. c, a decree was granted to Ezra by the 
Persian emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus to go up to Jerusalem 
with as many of his people as were minded to go with him. 
The commission granted him an unlimited amount of treasure, 
to beautify the house of God, to procure offerings for its 
service, and to do whatever else might seem good unto him. 
It empowered him to ordain laws, set magistrates and judges, 
and execute punishment even unto death; in other words, to 
restore the Jewish state, civil and ecclesiastical, according to 
the law of God and the ancient customs of that people. 
Inspiration has seen fit to preserve this decree; and a full and 
accurate copy of it is given in the seventh chapter of the book 
of Ezra. In the original, this decree is given, not in Hebrew, 
like the rest of the book of Ezra, but in the Chaldaic for 
Eastern Aramaic), the language then used at Babylon; and 



porters such names as Augustine, Tichonius, Primasius, Andreas, the venerable 
Bede, Ambrosius, Ansbertus, Berengaud, and Bruno Astensis, besides the leading 
modern expositors. (See Elliott's llora? Apocalypticiv, Vol. III. p. 241; and The 
Sanctuary and its Cleansing, pp. 4o-r):2.) But what is more conclusive than all else 
is the fact that tlio prophecies liave actually been fulfilled on this principle,— a 
demonstration of its correctness from which t liei-e is no ai)peal. Tl>is will be found 
in the prophecy of the seventy weeks tlirmighout, and all thr jiropiuMic periods of 
Daniel 7 and 13, and Revelation 9, 12, and 13. 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 199 

thus we are furnislied with the original document by virtue of 
which Ezra was authorized to restore and build Jerusalem. 

Thirteen years after this, in the twentieth year of the same 
king, B. c. 44tl:, JSTehemiah sought and obtained permission to 
go up to Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2. Permission was granted 
him, but we have no evidence that it was anything more than 
verbal. It pertained to him individually, nothing being said 
about others going up with him. The king asked him how 
long a journey he wished to make, and when he would return. 
He received letters to the governors beyond the river, to help 
him on his way to Judea, and an order to the keeper of the 
king's forest for timber for beams, etc. When he arrived at 
Jerusalem, he found rulers and priests, nobles and people, 
already engaged in the work of building Jerusalem. Neh. 
2 : 16. These were, of course, acting imder the decree given 
to Ezra thkteen years before. And finally, Nehemiah, having 
arrived at Jerusalem, finished the work he came to accomplish, 
in fifty-two days. Neh. 6 : 15. 

IN^ow which of these commissions, Ezra's or Nehemiah's, 
constitutes the decree for the restoration of Jerusalem, from 
which the seventy weeks are to be dated ? It hardly seems 
that there can be any question on this point. 

1. The grant to Nehemiah cannot be called a decree. It 
was necessary that a Persian decree should be put in writing, 
and signed by the king. Dan. 6 : 8. Such was the document 
given to Ezra; but Nehemiah had nothing of the kind, his 
commission being only verbal. If it be said that the letters 
given him constituted the decree, then the decree was issued, 
not to Nehemiah, but to the governors beyond the river; be- 
sides, these would constitute a series of decrees, and not one 
decree, as the prophecy contemplates. 

2. The occasion of J^ehemiah's petition to the king for 
permission to go up to Jerusalem was the report which certain 
ones, returning, had brought from thence, that those in the 
province were in great afiliction and reproach, also that the 
wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and the gates thereof 
burned with fire. Nehemiah 1. Whose work were these walls 



200 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

and gates that were broken down and burned with fire? — 
Evidently the work of Ezra and his associates; for it cannot 
for a moment be supposed that the utter destruction of the city 
by Nebuchadnezzar, one hundred and forty-four years previous 
to that time, would have been reported to Nehemiah as a 
matter of news, nor that he would have considered it, as he 
evidently did, a fresh misfortune, calling for a fresh expression 
of grief. A decree, therefore, authorizing the building of 
these, had gone forth previous to the grant to Nehemiah; and 
the attempt that had been made to execute the work, had 
fallen into embarrassment, which Nehemiah wished to relieve. 

3. If any should contend that Nehemiah's commission must 
be a decree, because the object of his request was that he might 
huild the city, it is sufficient to reply, as shown above, that 
gates and walls had been built previous to his going up; be- 
sides, the work of building which he went to perform was 
accomplished in fifty-two days; whereas, the prophecy allows 
for the building of the city, seven weeks, or forty-nine years. 

4. There was nothing granted to Nehemiah which was not 
embraced in the decree to Ezra; while the latter had all the 
forms and conditions of a decree, and was vastly more ample 
in its provisions. 

5. It is evident from the prayer of Ezra, as recorded in 
chapter 9 : 9 of his book, that he considered himself fully em- 
powered to proceed with the building of the city and the wall; 
and it is evident that he understood, further, that the con- 
ditional prophecies concerning his people were then fulfilled, 
from the closing words of that prayer, in which he says, 
*' Should we again break thy commandments, and join in 
affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldst not 
thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that 
there should be no remnant nor escaping? " 

6. Reckoning from the commission to Nehemiah, b. c. 444, 
the dates throughout are entirely disarranged; for from that 
point the troublesome times which were to attend the building 
of the street and wall, did not last seven weeks, or forty-nine 
years. Reckoning from that date, the sixty-nine weeks, or 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 201 

483 years, which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince, 
bring us to a. d. 40; but Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan, 
and the voice of the Father was heard from heaven declaring 
him his Son, in a. d. 27, thirteen years before. According to 
this calculation, the midst of the last or seventieth week, which 
is marked by the crucifixion, is placed in a. d. 44, but the cru- 
cifixion took place in a. d. 31, thirteen years previous. And 
lastly, the seventy weeks, or 490 years, dating from the twen- 
tieth of Artaxerxes, extend to a. d. 47, with absolutely nothing 
to mark their termination. Hence if that be the year, and the 
grant to Nehemiah the event, from which to reckon, the proph- 
ecy has proved a failure. As it is, it only proves that theory 
a failure which dates the seventy weeks from IN^ehemiah' s com- 
misson in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. 

7. Will these dates harmonize if we reckon from the decree 
to Ezra? Let us see. In this case, 457 b. c. is our starting- 
point. Forty-nine years were allotted to the building of the 
city and the wall. On this point, Prideaux (Connexion, Yol. 
I, p. 322) says : ' ' In the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus 
ended the first seven weeks of Daniel's prophecy. For then 
the restoration of the church and state of the Jews in Jerusa- 
lem and Judea was fully finished, in that last act of reformation 
which is recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah, from 
the twenty- third verse to the end of the chapter, just forty -nine 
years after it had been commenced by Ezra in the seventh year 
of Artaxerxes Longimanus. ^ ' This was b. c. 408. 

So far we find harmony. Let us apply the measuring-rod 
of the prophecy still further. Sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, 
were to extend to Messiah the Prince. Dating from b. o. 457, 
they end in a. d. 27. And what event then occurred ? Luke 
thus informs us : " Now when all the people were baptized, it 
came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the 
heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily 
shape like a dove uport- him, and a voice came from heaven, 
which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well 
pleased." Luke 3:21, 22; margin, a. d. 27. After this, 
Jesus came "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and 
16 n 



202 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

saying, The time is fulfilled." Mark 1 : 14, 15. Tlte time here 
mentioned must have been some specific, definite, and pre- 
dicted period; but no prophetic period can be found then termi- 
nating, except the sixty-nine weeks of the prophecy of Daniel, 
which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince. The Mes- 
siah had now come; and with his own lips he announced the 
termination of that period which was to be marked by his 
manifestation.^ 

Here, again, is indisputable harmony. But further, the 
Messiah was to confirm the covenant with many for one week. 
This would be the last week of the seventy, or the last seven 
years of the 490. In the midst of the week, the prophecy 

1 Luke declares that Jesus "began to be about thirty years of age " at the time 
of his baptism (Luke 3: 23) ; and almost immediately after this he entered upon his 
ministry. How, then, could his ministry commence in A. d. 27, and he still be of the 
age named by Luke ? The answer to this question is found in the fact that Christ 
was born between three and four years before the beginning of the Christian era, 
that is, before the year marked A. D. 1. The mistake of dating the Christian era 
something over three years this side of the birth of Christ, instead of dating it from 
the year of his birth, as it was designed to be, arose on this wise: One of the most 
important of ancient eras was reckoned from the building of the city of Rome 
— ah urbe condita, expressed by the abbreviation A. u. c, or more briefly, u. C. In the 
year which is now numbered A. d. 532, Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian by birth, and 
a Roman abbot, who flourished in the reign of Justinian, invented the Christian 
era. According to the best evidence at his command, he placed the birth of Christ 
u. C. 753. But Christ was born before the death of Herod; and it was afterward 
ascertained on the clearest evidence that the death of Herod occurred in April, 
D. c. 750. Allowing a few months for the events recorded in Christ's life before the 
time of Herod's death, his birth is carried back to the latter part of u. C. 749, a little 
over three years before A. D. 1. Christ was therefore thirty years of age in A. d. 27. 
" The vulgar [common] era began to prevail in the West about the time of Charles 
Martel and Pope Gregory II, A. D. 730; but was not sanctioned by any public Acts 
or Rescripts till the first German Synod, in the time of Carolomannus, Duke of the 
Franks, which, in the preface, was said to be assembled 'Anno ah incarnatUtnc Dom. 
742, 11 Calendas Mail.' But it was not establislied till the time of Pope Eugenius IV, 
A. D. 1431, who ordered this era to be used in the public Registers: according to 
Mariana and others."— Haies' Chronology, Vol. I, pp. S3,S4. (See also Life of Our 
Lord, by S. J. Andrews.) 

The Christian era bad become so well established before the mistake above 
referred to was discovered, that no change in the reckoning has been attempted. 
It makes no material difference, as it does not interfere at all with the calculation 
of dates. If the era commenced with the actual year of Christ's birth, the number 
of years b. c. in any case would be four years less, and the years A. d. four years 
more. To illustrate: If we have a period of twenty years, one half before and the 
other half since the Christian era, we say tluit it conuiKMu-od B. c. 10 and ended 
A. 1). 10. But if Ave place the era back to the real point of Christ's birth, there would 
be no change of either terminus of the period, but we should then say that It com- 
menced B. C. 6 and ended A. D. 14; that is, four years would be taken from the fig- 
ures B. c. and added to those of A. d. Some have so far misapprehended this subject 
as to claim that the current year should have four years added to it, to denote the 
real year of the Christian era. This would be true, if the reckoning began from the 
actual date of Christ's birth. But this is not the case; the starting-point is Ix'tween 
three and four years later. 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 208 

informs us, he should cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. 
These Jewish ordinances, pointing to the death of Christ, could 
cease only at the cross; and there they did virtually come to 
an end, though the outward observance was kept up till the 
destruction of Jerusalem, a. d. 70. After threescore and two 
weeks, according to the record, the Messiah was to be cut off. 
It is the same as if it had read : And after threescore and two 
weeks, in the midst of the seventieth week, shall Messiah be 
cut off, and cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Now, 
as the word midst here means middle, according to an abun- 
dance of authority which we might produce if necessary, the 
crucifij^ion is definitely located in the middle of the seventieth 
week. 

It now becomes an important point to determine in what 
year the crucifixion took place. The following evidence is 
sufficient to be considered absolutely decisive on this question. 

It is not to be questioned that our Saviour attended every 
Passover that occurred during his public ministry; and we 
have mention of only four such occasions previous to his cruci- 
fixion. These are found in the following passages : John 2 : 13; 
5 : 1; 6 : 4; 13 : 1. .At the last-mentioned Passover he was 
crucified. From facts already established, let us then see 
where this would locate the crucifixion. As he began his min- 
istry in the autumn of a. d. 27, his first Passover would occur 
the following spring, a. d. 28; his second, a. d. 29; his third, 
A. D. 30; and his fourth and last, a. d. 31. This gives us 
three years and a half for his public ministry, and corresponds 
exactly to the prophecy that he should be cut off in the midst, 
or middle, of the seventieth week. As that week of years 
comment3ed in the autumn of a. d. 27, the middle of the week 
would occur three and one-half years later, in the spring of 31, 
where the crucifixion took place. Dr. Hales quotes Eusebius, 
A. D. 300, as saying : " Itis recorded in history that the whole 
time of our Saviour's teaching and working miracles was three 
years and a half, which is the half of a week [of years]. This, 
John the evangelist will represent to those who critically attend 
to his Gospel." 



204 ' PROPHECY OF DANIEL 

Of the unnatural darkness which occurred at the crucifixion, 
Hales, Yol. I, pp. 69, 70, thus speaks: '' Hence it appears that 
the darkness which ' overspread the whole land of Judea ' at 
the time of our Lord's crucifixion was preternatural, 'from the 
sixth until the ninth hour, ' or from noon till three in the after- 
noon, in its duration^ and also in its time^ about full moon, 
when the moon could not possibly eclipse the sun. The time 
it happened, and the fact itself, are recorded in a curious and 
valuable passage of a respectable Roman Consul, Aurelius 
Cassiodorius Senator, about a. d. 514 : * In the consulate of 
Tiberius Csesar Aug. Y and ^lius Sejanus (u. c. 784, a. d. 
31), our Lord Jesus Christ suffered, on the 8th of the calends 
of April (25th of March), when there happened such an eclipse 
of the sun as was never before nor since. 

"In this year, and in this day, agree also the Council of 
Cesarea, a. I). 196 or 198, the Alexandrian Chronicle, Maxi- 
mus Monachus, JSTicephorus Constantinus, Cedrenus; and in 
this year, but on different days, concur Eusebius and Epipha- 
nius, followed by Kepler, Bucher, Patinus, and Petavius, some 
reckoning it the 10th of the calends of April, others the 13th." 
(See on chapter 11 : 22.) 

Here, then, are thirteen credible authorities locating the 
crucifixion of Christ in the spring of a. d. 31. We may there- 
fore set this down as a fixed date, as the most cautious or the 
most skeptical could require nothing more conclusive. This 
being in the middle of the last week, we have simply to reckon 
backward three and a half years to find where sixty-nine of 
the weeks ended, and forward from that point three and a half 
years to find the termination of the whole seventy. Thus going 
back from tlie crucifixion, a. d. 31, spring, three and a half 
years, we find ourselves in the autumn of a. d. 27, where, as 
we have seen, the sixty-nine weeks ended, and Christ com- 
menced his public ministry. And going from the crucifixion 
forward three and a half years, we are brought to the autumn 
of A. D. 34, as the grand terminating "point of the whole 
period of the seventy weeks. This date is marked by the 
martyrdom of Stephen, the formal rejection of the gospel of 



CHAPTER 0, VERSES 25-2t. 205 

Christ by the Jewish Sanhedrin in the persecution of hig 
disciples, and the turning of the apostles to the Gentiles. 
Acts 9 : 1-18. And these are just the e\^ents which one would 
expect to take place when that specified period which was 
cut off for the Jews, and allotted to them as a peculiar people, 
should fully expire. 

A word respecting the date of the seventh of Artaxerxes, 
when the decree for restoring Jerusalem was given to Ezra, 
and the array of evidence on this point is complete. Was the 
seventh of Artaxerxes b. c. 457 ? For all those who can ap- 
preciate the force of facts, the following testimony will be 
sufficient here : — 

' ' The Bible gives the data for a complete system of chro- 
nology, extending from the creation to the birth of Cyrus — 
a clearly ascertained date. From this period downward we 
have the undisputed canon of Ptolemy, and the undoubted era 
of Nabonassar, extending below our vulgar era. At the point 
where inspired chronology leaves us, this canon of undoubted 
accuracy commences. And thus the whole arch is spanned. 
It is by the canon of Ptolemy that the great prophetical period 
of seventy weeks is fixed. This canon places the seventh year 
of Artaxerxes in the year b. c. 457; and the accuracy of this 
canon is demonstrated by the concurrent agreement of more 
than twenty eclipses. This date we cannot change from b. c. 
457, without first demonstratmg the inaccuracy of Ptolemy's 
canon. To do this it would be necessary to show that the 
large number of eclipses by which its accuracy has been re- 
peatedly demonstrated have not been correctly computed; and 
such a result would unsettle every chronological date, and 
leave the settlement of epochs and the adjustment of eras 
entirely at the mercy of every dreamer, so that chronology 
would be of no more value than mere guesswork. As the 
seventy weeks must terminate in a. d. 34 unless the seventh of 
Artaxerxes is wrongly fixed, and as that cannot be changed 
without some evidence to that effect, we inquire. What evidence 
marked that termination ? The time when the apostles turned 
to the Gentiles harmonizes with that date better than any 



206 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

other which has been named. And tlie crucifixion in a. d. 31, 
in the midst of the last week, is sustained by a mass of testi- 
mony which cannot be easily invalidated," — Advent Herrald. 

From the facts above set forth, we see that, reckoning the 
seventy weeks from the decree given to Ezra in the seventh 
of Artaxerxes, b. c. 457, there is the most perfect harmony 
throughout. The important and definite events of the mani- 
festation of the Messiah at his baptism, the commencement of 
his public ministry, the crucifixion, and the turning away from 
the Jews to the Gentiles, with the proclamation of the new 
covenant, all come in in their exact place, and like a bright 
galaxy of blazing orbs of light, cluster round to set their sea] 
to the prophecy, and make it sure. 

It is thus evident that the decree to Ezra in the seventh of 
Artaxerxes, b. c. 457, is the point from which to date the 
seventy weeks. That was the going forth of the decree in the 
sense of the prophecy. The two previous decrees were pre])ar- 
atory and preliminary to this ; and indeed they are regarded 
by Ezra as parts of it, the three being taken as one great whole. 
For in Ezra 6 : 14, we read ; "And they builded, and finished 
it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and 
according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and 
Artaxerxes, king of Persia." It will be noticed that the de- 
crees of these three kings are spoken of as one, — ^'-the com- 
mandment" [margin, " decree," singular number] of Cyrus and 
Darius and Artaxerxes, ' ' showing that they are all reckoned as 
a unit, the different decrees being but the successive steps by 
which the work was accomplished. And this decree could not 
be said to have "gone forth," as intended by the prophecy, 
till the last permission which the prophecy required was em- 
bodied in the decree, and clothed with the authority of the 
empire. This point was reached in the grant given to Ezra, 
but not before. Here the decree assumed the proportions, and 
covered the ground, demanded by the prophecy, and from this 
point its " going forth " must be dated. 

With the seventy weeks we are now done ; but there 
remain a longer period and other important events to be con- 



207 

sidered. The seventy weeks are but the first 490 years of 
the 2300. Take 490 from 2300, and there remain 1810c The 
490, as we have seen, ended in the autumn of a. d. 34. If 
to this date we now add the remaining 1810 years, we shall 
have the termination of the whole period. Thus, to a. d. 
34, autumn, add 1810, and we have the autumn of a. d. 
1844. Thus speedily and surely do we find the termination 
of the 2300 days, when once the seventy weeks have been 
located. 

One other point should here be noticed. We have seen 
that the seventy weeks are the first 490 days of the 2300; 
that these days are prophetic, signifying literal years, accord- 
ing to the Bible rule, a day for a year (Num. 14:34; Eze. 
4 : 6), as is proved by the fulfilment of the seventy weeks, and 
as all reliable expositors agree; that they commenced in 457 
B. c. and ended in a. d. 1844, provided the number is right, 
and twenty-three hundred is the correct reading. With this 
point established, there would seem to be no room for further 
controversy. On this point Dr, Hales remarks : — 

*' There is no number in the Bible whose genuineness is 
better ascertained than that of the 2300 days. It is found in 
all the printed Hebrew editions, in all the MSS. of Kennicott 
and De Bossies collations, and in all the ancient versions^ ex- 
cept the Vatican copy of the Septuagint, which reads 2400, 
followed by Synimachus; and some copies noticed by Jerorn^ 
2200, both evidently literal errors in excess and defect, which 
compensate each other and confirm the mean, 2300." — Chro- 
nology^ Vol. 11^ p. 51^. 

The query may here arise how the days can be extended to 
the autumn of 1844 if they commence 457 b. c, as it requires 
only 1843 years, in addition to the 457, to make the whole 
number of 2300. Attention to one fact will clear 'this point 
of all difficulty; and that is, that it takes 4:57 full years before 
Christ, and 1S4^S full years after, to make 2300; so that if the 
period commenced with the very Jlrst day of 457, it would not 
terminate till the very last day of 1843. Now it will be 
evident to all that if any portion of the year 457 had passed 



208 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

away before the 2300 days commenced, jusi so much of the 
year 1844 must pass away before they would end. We there- 
fore inquire, At what point in the year 457 are we to com- 
mence to reckon ? From the fact that the first forty-nine 
years were allotted to the hdlding of the street and wall, we 
learn that the period is to be dated, not from the starting of 
Ezra from Babylon, but from the actual commencement of the 
work at Jerusalem; which it is not probable could be earlier 
than the seventh month (autumn) of 457, as he did not arrive 
at Jerusalem till the fifth month of that year. Ezra 7:9. The 
whole period would therefore extend to the seventh month^ 
autumn, Jewish time, of 1844. 

Those who oppose this view of the prophetic periods, have 
been wont in years past to meet us with this objectior. : " The 
2300 days have not ended, because the time has passed, and 
the Lord has not come. Why the time passed in 1844 without 
the consummation of our hopes, we acknowledge to be a mys- 
tery; but the passing of the time is proof that the 2300 days 
have not ended." 

Time, however, is no respecter of persons nor of theories; 
and with the formidable scythe which he is represented as car- 
rying, he sometimes demolishes in the most summary manner 
the grotesque and gossamer theories of men, however dear 
they may be to their authors and defenders. It is so here. 
Heedless of the wild contortions of those who would fain 
compel him to stop and fulfil their darling predictions, he has 
kept on the swift but even tenor of his way until — what ? 
every limit is passed to which the 2300 days can be extended; 
and thus he has demonstrated that those days have passed. Let 
not this point be overlooked. Setting aside for a moment the 
arguments by which they are shown to have ended in 1844, and 
letting them date from any point where the least shadow of 
reason can be imagined for placing them, or from which the 
wildest dreamer could date them, it is still true that the utmost 
limit to which they could extend has gone hy. They cannot 
possibly be dated at any point which would bring their termi- 
nation so late as the present time. We therefore say again, 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 209 

with not a misgiving as to the truth of the assertion, nor a fear 
of its successful contradiction, Those days have ended ! 

The momentous declaration made by the angel to Daniel, 
< ' Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the 
sanctuary be cleansed," is now explained. In our search for 
the meaning of the sanctuary and its cleansing, and the appli- 
cation of the time, we have found not only that this subject can 
be easily understood ; but lo ! the event is even now in process 
of accomplishment, and is almost finished. And here we pause 
a brief moment to reflect upon the solemn position into which 
we are brought. 

We have seen that the sanctuary of this dispensation is the 
tabernacle of God in heaven, the house not made with hands, 
where our Lord ministers in behalf of penitent sinners, the 
place where between the great God and his Son Jesus Christ 
the ' ' counsel of peace ' ' prevails in the work of salvation for 
perishing men. Zech. 6 : 13; Ps. 85 : 10. We have seen that 
the cleansing of the sanctuary consists in the removing of the 
sins from the same, and is the closing act of the ministration 
performed therein; that the work of salvatio'n now centers in 
the heavenly sanctuary; and when the sanctuary is cleansed, 
the work is done, and the plan is finished. Then the great 
scheme devised at the fall for the salvation of as many of the 
lost race as would avail themselves of its provisions, and carried 
forward for six thousand years, is brought to its final termi- 
nation. Mercy no longer pleads, and the great voice is heard 
from the throne in the temple in heaven, saying, "It is done." 
Kev. 16:17. And what then? — All the righteous are safe 
for everlasting life; all the wicked are doomed to everlasting 
death. Ko decision can be changed, no reward can be 
lost, and no destiny of despair can be averted, beyond that 
point. 

And we have seen (and this is what brings the solemnities 
of the Judgment to our own door) that that long prophetic 
period which was to mark the commencement of this final work 
in the heavenly sanctuary, has met its termination in our own 
generation. In 1844 the days ended. And since that time 



210 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

the final work for man's salvation has been going forward. 
This work involves an Examination of every man's character; 
for it consists in the remission of the sins of those who shall 
be found worthy to have them remitted, and determines who 
among the dead shall be raised, and who among the living 
shall be changed, at the coming of the Lord, and who, of both 
dead and living, shall be left to have their part in the fearful 
scenes of the second death. And all can see that such a deci- 
sion as this must be rendered before the Lord appears. Every 
man's destiny is to be determined by the deeds done in the body, 
and each one is to be rewarded according to his works. 2 Cor. 
5 : 10; Kev. 22 : 12. In the books of remembrance kept by 
the heavenly scribes above, every man's deeds will be found 
recorded (Rev. 20 : 12); and in the closing sanctuary work 
these records are examined, and decision is rendered in accord- 
ance therewith. Dan. 7 : 9, 10. It would be most natural to 
suppose that the work would commence with the first members 
of the human race ; that their cases would be first examined, 
and decision rendered, and so on with all the dead, generation 
by generation, in chronological succession along the stream of 
time, till we reach the last generation, — the generation of the 
living with whose cases the work would close. How long it 
will take to examine the cases of all the dead, how soon the 
work will reach the cases of the living, no man can know. 
And as above remarked, since the year 1844, this solemn work 
has been going forward. The light of the types, and the very 
nature of the case, forbid that it should be of long continuance. 
John, in his sublime views of heavenly scenes, saw millions of 
attendants and assistants engaged with our Lord in his priestly 
work. Revelation 5. And so the ministration goes forward. 
It ceases not, it delays not, and it must soon be forever 
finished. 

And here we stand — the last, the greatest, and the most 
solemn crisis in the history of our race immediately impending; 
the great plan of salvation about finished ; the last precious 
years of probation almost ended; the Lord about to come to 
save those who are ready and waiting, and to cut asunder the 



CHAPTER 9, VERSES 25-27. 211 

careless and unbelieving; and the world — alas ! what shall we 
say of them ! — deceived with error, crazed with cares and 
business, delirious with pleasure, and paralyzed with vice, they 
have not a moment to spare in listening to solemn truth, nor a 
thought to bestow upon their eternal interests. Let the people 
of God, with eternity right in view, be careful to escape the 
corruption that is in the world through lust, and prepare to 
pass the searching test, when their cases shall come up for 
examination at the great tribunal above. 

To the careful attention of every student of prophecy we 
commend the subject of the sanctuary. In the sanctuary is 
seen the ark of God's testament, containing his holy law; and 
this suggests a reform in our obedience to that great standard 
of morality. The opening of this heavenly temple, or the com- 
mencement of the service in its second apartment, marks the 
commencement of the sounding of the seventh angel. Rev. 
11 : 15, 19. The work performed therein is the foundation of 
the third message of Revelation 14, — the last message of mercy 
to a perishing world. This subject explains the great disap- 
pointment of the Adventists in 1844, by showing that they 
mistook the event to occur at the end of the 2300 days. It 
renders harmonious and clear past prophetic fulfilments, which 
are otherwise involved in impenetrable obscurity. It gives a 
definite idea of the position and work of our great High Priest, 
and brings out the plan of salvation in its distinctive and 
beautiful features. It reins us up, as no other subject does, to 
the realities of the Judgment, and shows the preparation we 
need to be able to stand in the coming day. It shows us that 
we are in the waiting time, and puts us upon our watch ; 
for we know not how soon the work will be finished, and 
our Lord appear. Watch, lest coming suddenly, he find you 
sleeping. 

After stating the great events connected with our Lord's 
mission here upon the earth, the prophet in the last part of 
verse 27 speaks of the soon-following destruction of Jerusalem 
by the Roman power ; and finally of the destruction of that 
power itself, called in the margin "the desolator. " 



212 MOPiiECY OF DAISUEL 

Note. — That the expression "to anoint the most holy" refers, ac- 
cording to remarks on verse 24 of this chapter, to the anointing of the 
heavenly sanctuary previous to the beginning of Christ's ministry therein, 
and not to any anointing of the Messiah himself, seems to be sus- 
ceptible of the clearest proof. The words translated " mo^t holy" are 
D'i!/lp Wlp {koclesh kodasMm), the **holy of holies," an expression which, 
according to Gesenius, applies to the most holy place in the sanctuary, 
and which in no instance is applied to a person, unless this passage be an 
exception. 

The Advent Shield, No. 1, p. 75, says : "And the last event of the sev- 
enty weeks, as enumerated in verse 24, was the anointing of the * most 
hoi}',' or ' the holy of holies,' or the ' sanctum sanctorum ; ' not that which 
was on earth, made with hands, but the true tabernacle, into which 
Christ, our High Priest, is for us entered. Christ was to do in the true 
tabernacle in heaven what Moses and Aaron did in its pattern. ( See He- 
brews, chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9 ; Ex. 30:22-30; Lev. 8 : 10-15.)" 

Dr. Barnes, in his notes on this passage, and particularly on the words 
"most holy," says: " The phrase properly means 'holy of holies,' or most 
holy ; it is applied often in the Scriptures to the inner sanctuary, or the 
portion of the tabernacle and temple containing the ark of the covenant, 
the two tables of stone, etc." "It is not necessarily limited to the inner 
sanctuary of the temple, but may be applied to the whole house." 
"Others have supposed that this refers to the Messiah himself, and that 
the meaning is that he who was most holy would then be consecrated, or 
anointed, as the Messiah. It is probable, as Hengstenberg ( Christology. 
II, 321, 322) has shown, that the Greek translators thus understood it, 
but it is a sufficient objection to this that the phrase, though occurring 
many times in the Scriptures, is never applied to persons, unless this be 
an instance." "It seems to me, therefore, that the obvious and fair in- 
terpretation is, to refer it to the temple." 

An understanding of the subject of the heavenly sanctuary would 
have relieved this scripture of the perplexity in which, in the minds of 
some expositors, it seems to be involved. 







Vekse 1. In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was re- 
vealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar ; and the thing 
was true, but the time appointed was long : and he understood the thing, 
and had understanding of the vision. 

^=pjp/HIS verse introduces us to the last of the recorded visions 
^11 of the prophet Daniel, the instruction imparted to him 
%J;^ at this time being continued through chapters 11 and 
12, to the close of the book. The third year of Cyrus was 
B. c. 531. Six years had consequently elapsed since Daniel's 
vision of the four beasts in the first year of Belshazzar, 
B. c. 540 ; four years since the vision of the ram, he-goat, 
little horn, and 2300 days of chapter 8, in the third year 
of Belshazzar, b. c. 538; and four years since the instruction 
given to Daniel respecting the seventy weeks, in the first 
year of Darius, b. c. 538, as recorded in chapter 9. On 
the overthrow of the kingdom of Babylon by the Medes 
.and Persians, b. c. 538, Darius, through the courtesy of his 
nephew, Cyrus, was permitted to occupy the throne. This he 
did till the time of his death, about two years after. About 
this time, Cambyses, king of Persia, the father of Cyrus, hav- 
ing also died, Cyrus became sole monarch of the second uni- 
versal empire of prophecy, b. c. 536. This being reckoned as 
his first year, his third year, in which this vision was given to 
Daniel, would be dated b. c. 531. The death of Daniel is sup- 

[213] 



214 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

posed to have occurred soon after this, he being at this time, 
according to Prideaux, not less than ninety-one }X'ars of age. 

Verse 2. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 
3. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, 
neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. 

The marginal reading for " three full weeks " is "weeks of 
days;" which term Dr. Stonard thinks is here used to distin- 
guish the time spoken of from the weeks of years, brought to 
view in the preceding chapter. 

For what purpose did this aged servant of God thus humble 
himself and afflict his soul ? — Evidently for the purpose of 
understanding more fully the divine purpose concerning events 
that were to befall the church of God in coming time; for the 
divine messenger sent to instruct him says, " From the first 
day that thou didst set thine heart to imd^rstand^ " etc. Yerse 
12. There was then still something which Daniel did not 
understand, but in reference to which he earnestly desired 
light. What was it ? — It was undoubtedly some part of his 
last preceding vision; namely, the vision of chapter 9, and 
through that of the vision of chapter 8, of which chapter 9 was 
but a further explanation. And as the result of his supplica- 
tion, he now receives more minute information respecting the 
events included in the great outlines of his former visions. 

This mourning of the prophet is supposed to have been 
accompanied with fasting; not an absolute abstinence from 
food, but a use of only the plainest and most simple articles of 
diet. He ate no pleasant bread, no delicacies nor dainties; he 
used no flesh nor wine; and he did not anoint his head, which 
was with the Jews an outward sign of fasting. How long he 
would have continued this fast had he not received the answer 
to his prayer, we know not; but his course in continuing it 
for three full weeks shows that, being assured his request was 
lawful, he was not a person to cease his supplication till his 
petition was granted. 

Verse 4. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, 
as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel ; 5. Then 1 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 1-9. 215 

lif-Led up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in 
linen, whose loins were p^irded with fine gold of Uphaz : 6. His body 
also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and 
his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to pol- 
ished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7. 
And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw 
not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to 
hide themselves. 8. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great 
vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was 
turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength 9. Yet heard 
I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then 
was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. 

Bj the Kiver Hiddekel the Syriac understands the Eu- 
phrates; the Yulgate, Greek, and Arabic, ihe Tigris ; hence 
Wintle concludes that the prophet had this vision at the place 
where these rivers unite, as they do not far from the Persian 
Gulf. 

A most majestic personage visited Daniel on this occasion. 
The description of him is almost parallel to that given of 
Christ in the Revelation, chapter 1 : 14-16; and the effect of 
his presence was about such as was experienced by Paul and 
his companions when the Lord met them on their way to 
Damascus. Acts 9 : 1-7. But this was not the Lord; for the 
Lord is introduced as Michael in verse 13. It must therefore 
have been an angel, but one of no ordinary character. The 
inquiry then arises. Of what angel can such a description be 
truthfully given? There are some points of identity between 
this and other passages which plainly show that this was the 
angel Gabriel. In chapter 8 : 16 Gabriel is introduced by 
name. His interview with Daniel at that time produced 
exactly the same effect upon the prophet as that described in 
the passage before us. At that time Gabriel was commanded 
to make Daniel understand the vision, and he himself promised 
to make him know what should be in the last end of the indig- 
nation. Having given Daniel all the instruction he was able 
to bear on that occasion, he subsequently resumed his work, 
and explained another great point in the vision, as recorded in 
chapter 9 : 20-27. Yet we learn from chapter 10 that there 
were some points still unexplained to the prophet ; and he set 



216 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

his heart again, with fasting and supplication, to understand 
the matter. 

A personage now appears whose presence has the same 
effect upon Daniel as that produced by the presence of Gabriel 
at the first; and he tells Daniel (verse 14), ^'Now I am come 
to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the 
latter days," the very information Gabriel had promised to 
give, as recorded in chapter 8 : 19. But one conclusion can be 
drawn from these facts Daniel was seeking further light on 
the very vision which Gabriel had been commanded to make 
him understand. Once, already, he had made a special visit 
to Daniel to give him additional information when he sought 
it with prayer and fasting Now, when he is prepared for 
further instruction, and again seeks it in the same manner in 
reference to the same subject, can it for a moment be supposed 
that Gabriel disregarded his instruction, lost sight of his mis- 
sion, and suffered another angel to undertake the completion 
of his unfinished work ? And the language of verse 14 clearly 
identifies the speaker with the one, who, in the vision of 
chapter 8, promised to do that work. 

Verse 10. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me ux)on my 
knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11. And he said unto me, O 
Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto 
thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he 
had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12. Then said he unto 
me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine 
heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words 
were heard, and I am come for thy words. 

Daniel having fallen into a swoon at the majestic appearance 
of Gabriel (for so the expression "deep sleep" of verse 9 is 
generally understood), the angel approaches, and lays his hand 
upon him to give him assurance and confidence to stand in his 
presence. He tells Daniel that he is a man greatly beloved. 
Wonderful declaration ! a member of the human family, one 
of the same race with us, loved, not merely in the general 
sense in wliicli God loved the whole world when he gave his 
Son to die for them, but loved as an individual, and that 
greatly ! Well might the })rophet receive confidence from such 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 10-12. 217 

a declaration as that, to stand even in the presence of Gabriel. 
He tells him, moreover, that he is come for the purpose of an 
interview with him, and he wishes him to bring his mind into 
a proper state to understand his words. Being thus addressed, 
the holy and beloved prophet, assured, but jet trembling, 
stood before the heavenly angel. 

"Fear not, Daniel," continues Gabriel. He had no occa- 
sion to fear before one, even though a divine being, who had 
been sent to him because he was greatly beloved, and in 
answer to his earnest prayer. 'Nor ought the people of God 
of any age to entertain a servile fear of any of those agents 
who are sent forth to minister to their salvation. There is, 
however, a disposition manifested among far too many to allow 
their minds to conceive of Jesus and his angels as only stern 
ministers of justice, iniiicters of vengeance and retribution, 
rather than as beings who are earnestly working for our salva- 
tion on account of the pity and love with which they regard us. 
The presence of an angel, should he appear bodily before them, 
would strike them with terror; and the thought that Christ is 
soon to appear, and they are to be taken into his presence, 
distresses' and alarms them. We recommend to such more 
amiable views of the relation which the Christian sustains to 
Christ, the head of the church, and a little more of that perfect 
love which casts out all fear. 

On verse 12 Bagster has the following pointed note : 
< ' Daniel, as Bishop Newton observes, was now very far ad- 
vanced in years; for the third year of Cyrus was the seventy- 
third of his captivity; and being a youth when carried captive, 
he cannot be supposed to have been less than ninety. Old as 
he was, ' he set his heart to understand ' the former revelations 
which had been made to him, and particularly th^ vision of the 
ram and he-goat, as may be collected from the sequel; and for 
this purpose he prayed and fasted three weeks. His fasting 
and prayers had the desired effect, for an angel was sent to 
unfold to him those mysteries ; and whoever would excel in 
divine knowledge must imitate Daniel, and habituate himself 
to study, temperance, and devotion." 
17 o 



218 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

Verse 13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one 
and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help 
me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 

How often the prayers of God's people are heard, while as 
yet there is no apparent answer. It was even so in this case 
with Daniel. The angel tells him that from the first day he 
set his heart to understand, his words were heard. Yet Daniel 
continued to afflict his soul with fasting, and to wrestle with 
God for three full weeks, all unaware that any respect was yet 
paid to his petition. But why was the delay? — The king of 
Persia withstood the angel. The answer to Daniel's prayer 
involved some action on the part of that king. This action he 
must be influenced to perform. It doubtless pertained to the 
work which he was to do, and had already begun to do, in 
behalf of the temple at Jerusalem and the Jews, his decree for 
the building of that temple being the first of the series which 
finally constituted that notable commandment to restore and 
build Jerusalem, at the going forth of which the great prophetic 
period of 2300 days was to begin. And the angel is des- 
patched to influence him to go forward in accordance with the 
divine will. 

Ah, how little do we realize what is going on in the unseen 
world in relation to human aft'airs ! Here, as it were, the 
curtain is for a moment lifted, and we catch a glimpse of the 
movements within. Daniel prays. The Creator of the universe 
hears. The command is issued to Gabriel to go to his relief. 
But the king of Persia must act before Daniel's prayer is 
answered; and the angel hastens to the Persian king. Satan 
no doubt musters his forces to oppose. They meet in the 
royal palace of Persia. All the motives of selfish interest and 
worldly policy which Satan can play upon, he doubtless uses 
to the best advantage to influence the king against compliance 
with God's will, while Gabriel brings to bear his influence in 
the other dii-ection. The king struggles between conflicting 
emotions He hesitates; he delays. Day after day passes 
away; yet Daniel prays on. The king still refuses to yield 
to the influence of the angel; three weeks expire, and lo ! a 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 13, 14. 219 

mightier than Gabriel takes his place in the palace of the king, 
and Gabriel appears to Daniel to acquaint him with the prog- 
ress of events. From the first, said he, yom^ prayer was heard; 
but during these three weeks which you have devoted to prayer 
and fasting, the king of Persia has resisted my influence and 
prevented my coming. 

Such was the effect of prayer. And God has erected no 
barriers between himself and his people since Daniel's time. 
It is still their privilege to offer up prayer as fervent and effectual 
as his, and, like Jacob, to have power with God, and to prevail. 

Who was Michael, who here came to Gabriel's assistance ? 
The term signifies, " He who is like God; " and the Scriptures 
clearly show that Christ is the one who bears this name. Jude 
(verse 9) declares that Michael is the archangel. Archangel 
signifies ''head or chief angel; " and Gabriel, in our text, calls 
him one, or, as the margin reads, the first ^ of the chief princes. 
There can be but one archangel; and hence it is manifestly im- 
proper to use the word, as some do, in the plural. The Scrip- 
tures never so use it. Paul, in 1 Thess. 4 : 16, states that 
when the Lord appears the second time to raise the dead, the 
voice of the archangel is heard. Whose voice is heard when 
the dead are raised ? — The voice of the Son of God. John 
5 : 28. Putting these scriptures together, they prove, (1) that 
the dead are called from their graves by the voice of the Son 
of God ; (2j that the voice which is then heard is the voice of 
the archangel, proving that the archangel is the Son of God; 
and (3) that the archangel is called Michael; from which it 
follows that Michael is the Son of God. In the last verse of 
jDaniel 10, he is called "your prince," and in the first of 
Ichapter 12, "the great prince which standeth for the children 
,of thy people," expressions which can appropriately be applied 
rto Christ, but to no other being. 

Verse 14. Now I am- come to make thee understand what shall 
befall thy people in the latter days : for yet the vision is for many days. 

The expression "yet the vision is for many days," reach- 
ing far into the future, and embracing what should befall the 



220 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

people of God even in the latter days, shows conclusively that 
the days given in that vision, namely the 2800, cannot mean 
literal days, but must be days of years. (See on chapter 9, 
verses 25-27.) 

Verse 15. And when he had spoken such words unto rae, I set my 
face toward the ground, and I became dumb. IG. And, behold, one like 
the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips : then I opened my 
mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, 
by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no 
strength. 17. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this 
my lord? for as for me, straightway there remaineth no strength in me, 
neither is there any breath left in me. 

One of the most marked characteristics manifested by 
Daniel was the tender solicitude he felt for his people. Hav- 
ing come now clearly to comprehend that the vision portended 
long ages of oppression and suffering for the church, he was so 
affected by the view that his strength departed from him, his 
breath ceased, and the power of speech was gone. The vision 
of verse 16 doubtless refers to the former vision of chapter 8. 

Vekse 18. Then there came again and touched me one like the ap- 
pearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19, And said, O man 
greatly beloved, fear not : peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong- 
And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let 
my lord speak ; for thou hast strengthened me. 20. Then said he, 
Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee ? and now will I return to 
fight with the prince of Persia : and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince 
of Grecia shall come. 21. But I will show thee that which is noted in 
the Scripture of truth : and there is none that holdeth with me in these 
things, but Michael your prince. 

The prophet is at length strengthened to hear in full the 
communication which the angel has to make. And Gabriel 
says, ^'Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee ^ " That 
is, do you now know to what end I have come 'i Do you un- 
derstand my purpose so that you will no more fear ? He then 
announced his intention to return, as soon as his communica- 
tion was complete, to fight with the king of Persia. The word 
with is, in the Septuagint, meta, and signifies, not against; but 
in common with, along- side of ; that is, the angel of God 
would stand on the side of the Persian kingdom so long as it 



CHAPTER 10, VERSES 15-21. 



^21 



was in the providence of God that that kingdom should con- 
tinue. " But when I am gone forth," continues Gabriel, " lo, 
the prince of Grecia shall come." That is, when he withdraws 
his support from that kingdom, and the providence of God oper- 
ates in behalf of another kingdom, the prince of Grecia shall 
come, and the Persian monarchy be overthrown. 

Gabriel then announced that none — God of course excepted 
— had an understandmg with him in the matters he was about 
to communicate except Michael the prince. And after he had 
made them known to Daniel, then there were four beings in 
the universe with whom rested a knowledge of these impor- 
tant truths, — Daniel, Gabriel, Christ, and God. Four links in 
this ascending chain of witnesses, — the first, Daniel, a member 
of the human family ; the last, Jehovah, the God of all ! 








CHAPTER XI 

tf"gs;r''-- ../ .^ 



BmL mptwd 



illlUlDllilllllil""'"" 







Verse 1. Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood 
to confirm and to strengthen him. 2. And now will 1 show thee the 
truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the 
fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his 
riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. 

PE now enter upon a prophecy of future events, clothed 
not in figures and symbols, as in the visions of 
chapters 2, 7, and 8, but given mostly in plain lan- 
guage. Many of the signal events of the world's history, from 
the days of Daniel to the end of the world, are here brought to 
view. This prophecy, says Bishop Newton, may not improp- 
erly be said to be a comment and explanation of the vision of 
chapter 8; a statement showing how clearly he perceived the 
connection between that vision and the remainder of the book. 

The angel, after stating that he stood, in the fii-st year of 
Darius, to confirm and strengthen him, turns his attention to 
the future. Three kings shall yet stand up in Persia. To 
stand up means to reign; three kings were to reign in Persia, 
referring, doubtless, to the immediate successors of Cyrus. 
These were, (1) Cambyses, son of Cyrus; {2) Smerdis, an 
impostor; (3) Darius Ilystaspes. 

The fourth shall be far richer than they all. The fourth 
king from (yyrus was Xerxes, more famous for his riches than 
his generalship, and conspicuous in history for the nuignificent 
[222] 



CHAPTER II, VERSES 1-4. 223 

campaign he organized against Grecia, and his utter failure in 
that enterprise. He was to stir up all against the realm of 
Grecia. Never before had there been such a levy of men for 
warlike purposes; never has there been since. His army, ac- 
cording to Herodotus, who lived in that age, consisted of five 
million two hundred and eighty-three thousand two hundred 
and twenty men (5,283,220). And not content with stirring 
up the East alone, he enlisted the Carthaginians of the West in 
his service, who took the field with an additional army of three 
hundred thousand men, raising his entire force to the almost 
fabulous number of over five million and a half. As Xerxes 
looked over that vast concourse, he is said to have wept at the 
thought that in a hundred years from that time not one of all 
those men would be left alive. 

Terse 3. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with 
great dominion, and do according to his will. 4. And when he shall 
stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the 
four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his 
dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for 
others beside those. 

The facts stated in these verses plainly point to Alexander, 
and the division of his empire. (See on chapter 8:8.) Xerxes 
was the last Persian king who invaded Grecia; and the proph- 
ecy therefore passes over the nine successors of Xerxes in the 
Persian empire, and next introduces Alexander the Great. 
Having overthrown the Persian empire, Alexander ' ' became 
absolute monarch of that empire, to the fullest extent it was 
ever possessed by any of the Persian kings." — Prideaux, Vol. 
I, p, 378. His dominion was great, including "the greater 
portion of the then known habitable world ; " and he did 
according to his will. His will led him, b. c. 323, into a 
drunken debauch, as the result of which he died as the fool 
dieth; and his vainglorious and ambitious projects went into 
sudden, total, and everlasting eclipse. The kingdom was 
divided, but not for his posterity; it was plucked up for 
others besides those. Within fifteen years after his death, all 
his posterity had fallen victims to the jealousy and ambition 



224 PROPHECY OF DANIKL. 

of his leading generals. Not one of the race of Alexander 
was left to breathe upon the earth. So short is the transit 
from the highest pinnacle of earthly glory to the lowest depths 
of oblivion and death. The kingdom was rent into four 
divisions, and taken possession of by Alexander's four ablest, 
or perhaps most ambitious and unprincipled generals, — Cas- 
sander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy. 

Verse 5. And the king of the soiith shall be strong, and one of his 
princes; and he shall be strong above hrni, and have dominion; his 
dominion shall be a great dominion. 

The king of the north and the king of the south are 
many times referred to in the remaining portion of this chap- 
ter. It therefore becomes essential to an understanding of the 
prophecy clearly to identify these powers. When Alexander's 
empire was divided, the different portions lay toward the four 
winds of heaven, west, north, east, and south; these divisions 
of course to be reckoned from the standpoint of Palestine, the 
native land of the prophet. That division of the empire lying 
west of Palestine would thus constitute the kingdom of the 
west; that lying north, the kingdom of the north; that lying 
east, the kingdom of the east; and that lying south, the king- 
dom of the south. The divisions of Alexander' s kingdom with 
respect to Palestine were situated as follows : Cassander had 
Greece and the adjacent countries, which lay to the west ; 
Lysimachus had Thrace, which then included Asia Minor, and 
the countries lying on the Hellespont and Bosporus, which lay 
to the north of Palestine ; Seleucus had Syria and Babylon, 
which lay principally to the east ; and Ptolemy had Egypt 
and the neighboring countries, which lay to the south. 

During the wars and revolutions which for long ages suc- 
ceeded, these geographical boundaries were frequently changed 
or obliterated; old ones were wi})ed out, and new ones insti- 
tuted. But whatever changes might occur, these Jirsf divis- 
ions of the empire must determine tlie names which these 
portions of territory should q.wv afterward bear, or we have 
no standard by which to test the application of the j)ro})hccy; 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 5, 6. 225 

that is, whatever power at any time should occupy the terri- 
tory which at first constituted the kingdom of the north, that 
power, so long as it occupied that territory, would be the king 
of the north; and whatever power should occupy that which 
at first constituted the kingdom of thfe south, that power would 
so long be the king of the south. We speak of only these two, 
because they are the only ones afterward spoken of m the 
prophecy, and because, in fact, almost the whole of Alexan- 
der's empire finally resolved itself into these two divisions. 

Cassander was very soon conquered by Lysimachus, and 
his kingdom, Greece and Macedon, annexed to Thrace. And 
Lysimachus was in turn conquered by Seleucus, and Macedon 
and Thrace annexed to Syria. 

These facts prepare the way for an application of the text 
before us. The king of the south, Egypt, shall be strong. 
Ptolemy annexed Cyprus, Phoenicia, Caria, Cyrene, and many 
islands and cities- to Egypt. Thus was his kingdom made 
strong. But another of Alexander's princes is introduced in 
the expression, ''one of his princes." The Septuagint trans- 
lates the verse thus : ' ' And the king of the south shall be 
strong, and one of his [Alexander's] princes shall be strong 
above him." This must refer to Seleucus, who, as already 
stated, having annexed Macedon and Thrace to Syria, thus be- 
came possessor of three parts out of four of Alexander's do- 
minion, and established a more powerful kingdom than that of 
Egypt. 

Verse 6. And in the end of years they shall join themselves to- 
gether; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of 
the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of 
the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, 
and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strength- 
ened her in these times. 

There were frequent wars between the kings of Egypt and 
Syria. Especially was this the case with Ptolemy Philadel- 
phus, the second king of Egypt, and Antiochus Theos, third 
king of Syria. They at length agreed to make peace upon 
condition that Antiochus Theos should put away his former 



226 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

wife, Laodice, and her two sons, and should marry Berenice, 
the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Ptolemy accordingly 
brought his daughter to Antiochus, bestowing with her an 
immense dowry. 

''But she shall not rdtain the power of the arm; " that is, 
her interest and power with Antiochus. And so it proved; for 
some time shortly after, in a fit of love, Antiochus brought 
back his former wife, Laodice, and her children, to court again. 
Then says the prophecy, "Neither shall lie [Antiochus] stand, 
nor his arm," or seed. Laodice, being restored to favor and 
power, feared lest, in the fickleness of his temper, Antiochus 
should agaiii disgrace her, and recall Berenice; and conceiving 
that nothing short of his death would be an effectual safeguard 
against such a contingency, she caused him to be poisoned 
shortly after. Neither did his seed by Berenice succeed him 
in the kingdom; for Laodice so managed aft'airs as to secure 
the throne for her eldest son, Seleucus Callinicus. 

" But she [Berenice] shall be given up." Laodice, not con- 
tent with poisoning her husband, Antiochus, caused Berenice 
to be murdered. '^ And they that brought her." Her Egyp- 
tian women and attendants, in endeavoring to defend her, 
were many of them slain with her. ' ' And he that begat her, ' ' 
margin, " whom she brought forth; " that is, her son, who was 
murdered at the same time by order of Laodice. "And he that 
strengthened her in these times;" her husband, Antiochus, as 
Jerome supposes, or those who took her part and defended her. 

But such wickedness could not long remain unpunished, as 
the prophecy further predicts, and further history proves. 

Verse 7. But out of a branch of hor roots shall one stand up in his 
estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress 
of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: 
8. And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, 
and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall con- 
tinue more years tiian the king of the north. 9. So the king of the south 
shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. 

This branch out of the same root with Berenice was her 
brother, Ptolemy Euergetes. He had no sooner succeeded his 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 'I-O. 227 

father, Ptolemj Philadelplius, in tlie kingdom of Egypt, than, 
burning to avenge the death of his sister, Berenice, he raised 
an immense army, and invaded the territory of the king of the 
north, that is, of Seleucus Callinicus, who, with his mother, 
Laodice, reigned in Syria. And he prevailed against them, 
even to the conquering of Syria, Cilicia, the upper parts 
beyond the Euphrates, and almost all Asia. But hearing that 
a sedition was raised in Egypt, requiring his return home, 
he plundered the kingdom of Seleucus, took forty thousand 
talents of silver and precious vessels, and two thousand five 
hundred images of the gods. Among these were the images 
which Cambyses had formerly taken from Egypt and carried 
into Persia. The Egyptians, being wholly given to idolatry, 
bestowed upon Ptolemy the title of Euergetes, or the Bene- 
factor, as a compliment for his having thus, after many years, 
restored their captive gods. 

This, according to Bishop Newton, is Jerome's account, 
extracted from ancient historians; but there are authors still 
extant, he says, who confirm several of the same particulars. 
Appian informs us that Laodice, having killed Antiochus, and 
after him both Berenice and her child, Ptolemy, the son of 
Philadelphus, to revenge those murders, invaded Syria, slew 
Laodice, and proceeded as far as Babylon. From Polybius 
we learn that Ptolemy, surnamed Euergetes, being greatly 
incensed at the cruel treatment of his sister, Berenice, marched 
with an army into Syria, and took the city of Seleucia, which 
was kept for some years afterward by the garrisons of the 
kings of Egypt. Thus did he enter into the fortress of the 
king of the north. Polysenus afiirms that Ptolemy made him- 
self master of all the country from Mount Taurus as far as to 
India, without war or battle; but he ascribes it by mistake to 
the father instead of the son. Justin asserts that if Ptolemy 
had not been recalled into Egypt by a domestic sedition, he 
would have possessed the whole kingdom of Seleucus. The 
king of the south thus came into the dominion of the king of 
the north, and returned to his own land, as the prophet had 
foretold. And he also continued more years than the king 



228 PROPHECY OF DANtEL. 

of tho north; for Seleucus Callinicus died in exile, of a fall 
from his horse; and Ptolemy Euergetes survived him for four 
or five years. 

Verse 10. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a 
multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, 
and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his 
fortress. 

The first part of this verse speaks of sons, in the plural ; 
the last part, of one, in the singular. The sons of Seleucus 
Callinicus were Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus Macrnus. 
These both entered with zeal upon the work of vindicating and 
avenging the cause of their father and their country. The 
elder of these, Seleucus, first took the throne. He assembled 
a great multitude to recover his father's dominions ; but being 
a weak and pusillanimous prince, both in body and estate, 
destitute of money, and unable to keep his army in obedience, 
he was poisoned by two of his generals after an inglorious 
reign of two or three years. His more capable brother, Antio- 
chus Magnus, was thereupon proclaimed king, who, taking 
charge of the army, retook Seleucia and recovered Syria, mak- 
ing himself master of some places by treaty, and of others by 
force of arms. A truce followed, wherein both sides treated 
for peace, yet prepared for war ; after which Antiochus re- 
turned and overcame in battle Nicholaus, the Egyptian general, 
and had thoughts of invading Egypt itself. Here is the ^< one" 
who should certainly overflow and pass through. 

Verse 11. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, 
and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the 
north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall 
be given into his hand. 

Ptolemy Philopater succeeded his father, Euergetes, in the 
kingdom of Egypt, being advanced to the crown not long after 
Antiochus Magnus had succeeded his brother in the government 
of Syria. He was a most luxurious and vicious prince, but was 
at length roused at the prospect of an invasion of Egypt by 
Antiochus. He was indeed ''moved with choler" for tho 
losses he had sustained, and the danger which threatened him ; 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 10-12. 229 

and he came forth out of Egypt with a numerous army to check 
the progress of the Syrian king. The king of the north was 
also to set forth a great multitude. The army of Antiochus, 
according to Polybius, amounted on this occasion to sixty-two 
thousand foot, six thousand horse, and one hundred and two 
elephants. In the battle, Antiochus was defeated, and his 
army, according to prophecy, was given into the hands of the 
king of the south. Ten thousand foot and three thousand horse 
were slain, and over four thousand men were taken prisoners ; 
while of Ptolemy's army there were slain only seven hundred 
horse, and about twice that number of infantry. 

Verse 12, And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart 
shall be lifted up ; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he 
shall not be strengthened by it. 

Ptolemy lacked the prudence to make a good use of his 
victory. Had he followed up his success, he would probably 
have become master of the whole kingdom of Antiochus ; but 
content with making only a few menaces and a few threats, 
he made peace that he might be able to give himself up to the 
uninterrupted and uncontrolled indulgence of his brutish pas- 
sions. Thus, having conquered his enemies, he was overcome 
by his vices, and, forgetful of the great name which he might 
have established, he spent his time in feasting and lewdness. 

His heart was lifted up by his success, but he was far from 
being strengthened by it ; for the inglorious use he made of 
it caused his own subjects to rebel against him. But the lift- 
ing up of his heart was more especially manifested in his trans- 
actions with the Jews. Coming to Jerusalem, he there offered 
sacrifices, and was very desirous of entering into the most holy 
place of the temple, contrary to the law and religion of that 
place ; but being, though with great difficulty, restrained, he 
left the place, burning with anger against the whole nation of 
the Jews, and immediately commenced against them a terrible 
and relentless persecution. In Alexandria, where Jews had 
resided since the days of Alexander, and enjoyed the privileges 
of the most favored citizens, forty thousand, according to Euse- 
bius, sixty thousand, according to Jerome, were slain in this 



230 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

persecution. The rebellion of the Egyptians, and this mas- 
sacre of the Jews, certainly were not calculated to strengthen 
him in his kingdom, but were sufficient rather almost totally 
to ruin it. 

Verse 13. For the kin^ of the north shall return, and shall set forth 
a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after cer- 
tain years with a great army and with much riches. 

The events predicted in this verse were to occur "after 
certain years. ' ' The peace concluded between Ptolemy Philopa- 
ter and Antiochus, lasted fourteen years. Meanwhile Ptolemy 
died from intemperance and debauchery, and was succeeded 
by his son, Ptolemy Epiphanes, a child then four or five years 
old. Antiochus, during the same time, having suppressed re- 
bellion in his kingdom, and reduced and settled the eastern 
parts in their obedience, was at leisure for any enterprise, when 
young Epiphanes came to the throne of Egypt; and thinking 
this too good an opportunity for enlarging his dominion to be 
let slip, he raised an immense army ' ' greater than the former ' ' 
( for he had collected many forces and acquired great riches in 
his eastern expedition), and set out against Egypt, expecting 
to have an easy victory over the infant king. How he suc- 
ceeded we shall presently see; for here new complications enter 
into the affairs of these kingdoms, and new actors are intro- 
duced upon the stage of history. 

Verse 14. And in those times there shall many stand up against the 
king of the south : also the robbers of thy people shalt exalt themselves 
to establish the vision ; but they shall fall. 

Antiochus was not the only one who rose up against the 
infant Ptolemy. Agathocles, his prime minister, liaving pos- 
session of the king's person, and conducting the affairs of the 
kingdom in his stead, was so dissolute and proud in the exercise 
of his power that the provinces which before were subject to 
Egypt rebelled; Egypt itself was disturbed by seditions; and 
the Alexandrians, rising up against Agathocles, caused him, 
his sister, his mother, and their associates, to be put to 
death. At the same time, Phili]^, king of Macedon, entered 
into a league with Antiochus to divide the dominions of Ptol- 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 13, 14. 231 

emy between them, each proposing to take the parts which lay 
nearest and most convenient to him. Here was a rising up 
against the king of the south sufficient to fulfil the prophecy, 
and the very events, beyond doubt, which the prophecy in- 
tended. 

A new power is now introduced, — "the robbers of thy 
people;" literally, says Bishop Newton, "the breakers of thy 
people." Far away on the banks of the Tiber, a kingdom 
had been nourishing itself with ambitious projects and dark 
designs. Small and weak at first, it grew with marvelous 
rapidity in strength and vigor, reaching out cautiously here 
and there to try its prowess, and test the vigor of its warlike 
arm, till, conscious of its power, it boldly reared its head 
among the nations of the earth, and seized with invincible 
hand the helm of their affairs. Henceforth the name of Eome 
stands upon the historic page, destined for long ages to control 
the affairs of the world, and exert a mighty influence among 
the nations, even to the end of time. 

Eome spoke ; and Syria and Macedonia soon found a 
change coming over the aspect of their dream. The Romans 
interfered in behalf of the young king of Egypt, determined 
that he should be protected from the ruin devised by Antiochus 
and Philip. This was b. c. 200, and was one of the first im- 
portant interferences of the Romans in the affairs of Syria and 
Egypt. Rollin furnishes the following succinct account of this 
matter : — 

' ' Antiochus, king of Syria, and Philip, king of Macedonia, 
during the reign of Ptolemy Philopater, had discovered the 
strongest zeal for the interests of that monarch, and were ready 
to assist him on all occasions. Yet no sooner was he dead, 
leaving behind him an infant, whom the laws of humanity and 
justice enjoined them not to disturb in the possession of his 
father's kingdom, than they immediately joined in a crim- 
inal alliance, and excited each other to shake off' the lawful 
heir, and divide his dominions between them. Philip was to 
have Caria, Libya, Cyrenaica, and Egypt; and Antiochus, all 
the rest. With this view, the latter entered Ccele-Syria and 



232 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

Palestine, and in less than two compaigns made an entire con- 
quest of the two provinces, with all their cities and dependen- 
cies. Their guilt, says Folybius, would not have been quite so 
glaring, had they, like tyrants, endeavored to gloss over their 
crimes with some specious pretense; but, so far from doing 
this, their injustice and cruelty were so barefaced, that to them 
was applied what is generally said of fishes, that the larger 
ones, though of the same species, prey on the lesser. One 
would be tempted, continues the same author, at seeing the 
most sacred laws of society so openly violated, to accuse Provi- 
dence of being indifferent and insensible to the most horrid 
crimes; but it fully justified its conduct by punishing those 
two kings according to their deserts ; and made such an 
example of them as ought, in all succeeding ages, to deter 
others from following their example. For, while they were 
meditating to dispossess a weak and helpless infant of his 
kingdom by piecemeal, Providence raised up the Romans 
against them, who entirely subverted the kingdoms of Philip 
and Antiochus, and reduced their successors to almost as great 
calamities as those with which they intended to crush the 
infant king." — Ancient History, Booh 18, chajy. 60. 

' ' To establish the vision. " The Komans being more promi- 
nently than any other people the subject of Daniel's prophecy, 
their first interference in the affairs of these kingdoms is here re- 
ferred to as being the establishment, or demonstration, of the 
truth of the vision which predicted the existence of such a power. 

'' But they shall fall." Some refer this to those mentioned 
in the first part of the verse, who should stand up against the 
king of the south; others, to the robbers of Daniel's people, 
the Romans. It is true in either case. If those who combined 
against Ptolemy are referred to, all that need be said is that they 
did speedily fall ; and if it applies to the Romans, the prophecy 
simply looked forward to the period of their overthrow. 

VEitsE 15. So the kin^ of the north sluill come, and cast up a mount, 
and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall n()t 
withstand, neither his chosen peophs neither shall there be any streujfth 
to withstand. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 15, 16. 233 

The tuition of the young king of Egypt was entrusted by 
the Roman Senate to M. Emilius Lepidus, who appointed Aris- 
tomenes, an old and experienced minister of that court, his 
guardian. His first act was to provide against the threatened 
invasion of the two confederated kings, Philip and Antiochus. 

To this end he despatched Scopas, a famous general of 
^tolia, then in the service of the Egyptians, into his native 
country to raise reinforcements for the army. Having 
equipped an army, he marched into Palestine and Coele-Syria 
(Antiochus being engaged in a war with Attains in Lesser 
Asia), and reduced all Judea into subjection to the authority 
of Egypt. 

Thus affairs were brought into a posture for the fulfil- 
ment of the verse before us. For Antiochus, desisting from 
his war with Attains at the dictation of the Romans, took 
speedy steps for the recovery of Palestine and Coele-Syria 
from the hands of the Egyptians. Scopas was sent to oppose 
him. Near the sources of the Jordan, the two armies met. 
Scopas was defeated, pursued to Sidon, and there closely be- 
sieged. Three of the ablest generals of Egypt, with their best 
forces, were sent to raise the siege, but without success. At 
length Scopas meeting, in the gaunt and intangible specter of 
famine, a foe with whom he was unable to cope, was forced to 
surrender on the dishonorable terms of life only; whereupon 
he and his ten thousand men were suffered to depart, stripped 
and naked. Here was the taking of the most fenced cities by 
the king of the north; for Sidon was, both in its situation and 
its defenses, one of the strongest cities of those times. Here 
was the failure of the arms of the south to withstand, and the 
failure also of the people which the king of the south had 
chosen, namely, Scopas and his .zEtolian forces. 

Verse 16.' But he that cometh against him shall do according to his 
own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the 
glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. 

Although Egypt could not stand before Antiochus, the king 
of the north, Antiochus could not stand before the Romans, 
who now came against him. No kingdoms were longer able 
18 p 



234 PkOPHECY OF DANIEL. 

to resist this rising power. Syria was conquered, and added 
to the Roman empire, when Pompey, b. c. 65, deprived 
Antiochus Asiaticus of his possessions, and reduced Syria to 
a Roman province. 

The same power was also to stand in the Holy Land, and 
consume it. Rome became connected with the people of God, 
the Jews, by alliance, b. c. 161, from which date it holds a 
prominent place in the prophetic calendar. It did not, how- 
ever, acquire jurisdiction over Judea by actual conquest till 
B. o. 63; and then in the following manner. 

On Pompey' s return from his expedition against Mithri- 
dates, king of Pontus, two competitors, Hyrcanus and Aristob- 
ulus, were struggling for the crown of Judea. Their cause 
came before Pompey, who soon perceived the injustice of the 
claims of Aristobulus, but wished to defer decision in the 
matter till after his long-desired expedition into Arabia, prom- 
ising then to return, and settle their affairs as should seem just 
and proper. Aristobulus, fathoming Pompey 's real sentiments, 
hastened back to Judea, armed his subjects, and prepared for 
a vigorous defense, determined, at all hazards, to keep the 
crown, which he foresaw would be adjudicated to another. 
Pompey closely followed the fugitive. As he approached 
Jerusalem, Aristobulus, beginning to repent of his course, 
came out to meet him, and endeavored to accommodate mat- 
ters by promising entire submission, and large sums of money. 
Pompey, accepting this offer, sent Gabinius, at the head of a 
detaclmaent of soldiers, to receive the money. But when tliat 
lieutenant-general arrived at Jerusalem, he found the gates 
shut. against him, and was told from the top of the walls that 
the city would not stand to the agreement. 

Pompey, not to be deceived in this way with impunity, put 
Aristobulus, whom he had retained with him, in irons, and 
immediately marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. 
The partisans of Aristobulus were for defending the place; 
those of Hyrcanus, for opening the gates. The latter being in 
the majority, and prevailing, Pompey was given free entrance 
into the city. Whereupon the adherents of Aristobulus retired 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 17. 235 

to the mountain of the temple, as fully determined to defend 
that place as Pompey was to reduce it. At the end of three 
months a breach was made in the wall sufficient for an assault, 
and the place was carried at the point of the sword. In the 
terrible slaughter that ensued, twelve thousand persons were 
slain. It was an affecting sight, observes the historian, to see 
the priests, engaged at the time in divine service, with calm 
hand and steady purpose pursue their accustomed work, ap- 
parently unconscious of the wild tumult, though all around 
them their friends were given to the slaughter, and though 
often their own blood mingled with that of their sacrifices. 

Having put an end to the war, Pompey demolished the 
walls of Jerusalem, transferred several cities from the jurisdic- 
tion of Judea to that of Syria, and imposed tribute on the Jews. 
Thus for the first time was Jerusalem placed by conquest in 
the hands of that power which was to hold the ' ' glorious land ' ' 
in its iron grasp till it had utterly consumed it. 

Verse 17. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his 
whole kingdom, and upright ones Avith him; thus shall he do: and he 
shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not 
stand on his side, neither be for him. 

Bishop ^N^ewton furnishes another reading for this verse, 
which seems more clearly to express the sense, as follows: 
"He shall also set his face to enter by force the whole king- 
dom." yerse,16 brought us down to the conquest of Syria 
and Judea by the Romans. Rome had previously conquered 
Macedon and Thrace. Egypt was now all that remained of 
the ' ' whole kingdom ' ' of Alexander, not brought into subjec- 
tion to the Roman power, which power now set its face to 
enter by force into that country. 

Ptolemy Auletes died b. c. 51. He left the crown and 
kingdom of Egypt to his eldest son and daughter, Ptolemy and 
Cleopatra. It was provided in his will that they should marry 
together, and reign jointly; and because they were young, 
they were placed under the guardianship of the Romans. The 
Roman people accepted the charge, and appointed Pompey as 
guardian of the young heirs ol Egypt. 



236 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

A quarrel having not long after broken out between Pom 
pey and Caesar, the famous battle of Pharsalia was fought be 
tween the two generals, Pompey, being defeated, fled into 
Egypt. Csesar immediately followed him thither; but before 
his arrival, Pompey was basely murdered by Ptolemy, whose 
guardian he had been appointed. Caesar therefore assumed the 
appointment which had been given to Pompey. as guardian of 
Ptolemy and Cleopatra. He found Egypt in commotion from 
intestine disturbances, Ptolemy and Cleopatra having become 
hostile to each other, and she being deprived of her share in 
the government. Notwithstanding this, he did not hesitate to 
land at Alexandria with his small force, 800 horse and 3200 
foot, take cognizance of the quarrel, and undertake its settle- 
ment. The troubles daily increasing, Caesar found his small 
force insufficient to maintain his position, and being unable to 
leave Egypt on account of the north wind which blew at that 
season, he sent into Asia, ordering all the troops he had in 
that quarter to come to his assistance as soon as possible. 

In the most haughty manner he decreed that Ptolemy and 
Cleopatra should disband their armies, appear before him for 
a settlement of their differences, and abide by his decision. 
Egypt being an independent kingdom, this haughty decree 
was considered an affront to its royal dignity, at which the 
Egyptians, highly incensed, flew to arms. Caesar replied that 
he acted by virtue of the will of their father Auletes, who had 
put his children under the guardianship of the senate and peo- 
ple of Rome, the whole authority of which was now vested in 
his person as consul; and that, as guardian, he had the right 
to arbitrate between them. 

The matter was finally brought before him, and advocates 
appointed to plead the cause of the respective parties. Cleo- 
patra, aware of the foible of the great Ronum conqueror, 
judged that the beauty of her presence would be more effectual 
in securiMg judgment in her favor than any advocate she could 
employ. To reach his presence undetected, she had recourse 
to the following stratagem : Laying herself at full length in a 
bundle of clothes, Appolodorus, her Sicilian servant, wrapped 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 17. 237 

it lip in a cloth; tied it with a thong, and raising it upon his 
Herculean shoulders, sought the apartments of Caesar. Claim- 
ing to have a present for the Roman general, he was admitted 
through the gate of the citadel, entered into the presence of 
Caesar, and deposited the burden at his feet. When Caesar 
had unbound this animated bundle, lo ! the beautiful Cleopatra 
stood before him. He was far from being displeased with the 
stratagem, and being of a character described in 2 Peter 2 : 14, 
the first sight of so beautiful a person, sajs Eollin, had all the 
effect upon him she had desired. 

Caesar at length decreed that the brother and sister should 
occupy the throne jointly, according to the intent of the will. 
Pothinus, the chief minister of state, having been principally 
instrumental in expelling Cleopatra from the throne, feared 
the result of her restoration. He therefore began to excite 
jealousy and hostility against Caesar, by insinuating among the 
populace that he designed eventually to give Cleopatra the sole 
power. Open sedition soon followed Achillas, at the head of 
20,000 men, advanced to drive Caesar from Alexandria. Skil- 
fully disposing his small body of men in the streets and alleys 
of the city, Caesar found no difficulty in repelling the attack. 
The Egyptians undertook to destroy his fleet. He retorted by 
burning theirs. Some of the burning vessels being driven near 
the quay, several of the buildings of the city took fire, and the 
famous Alexandrian library, containing nearly 400,000 vol- 
umes, was destroyed. 

The war growing more threatening, Caesar sent into all the 
neighboring countries for help. A large fleet came from Asia 
Minor to his assistance. Mithridates set out for Egypt with an 
army raised in Syria and Cilicia. Antipater the Idumean joined 
him, with 3000 Jews. The Jews, who held the passes into 
Egypt, permitted the army to pass on without interruption. 
Without this co-operation on their part, the whole plan must 
have failed. The arrival of this army decided the contest. A 
decisive battle was fought near the J^ile, resulting in a complete 
victory for Caesar. Ptolemy, attempting to escape, was 
drowned in the river. Alexandria and all Egypt then sub- 



238 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

mitted to the victor. Rome had now entered into and absorbed 
the whole of the original kingdom of Alexander. 

Bj the ' ' upright ones ' ' of the text are doubtless meant the 
Jews, who gave him the assistance already mentioned. With- 
out this, he must have failed; with it, he completely subdued 
Egypt to his power, b. c. 47. 

''The daughter of women, corrupting her." The passion 
which Caesar had conceived for Cleopatra, by whom he had 
one son, is assigned by the historian as the sole reason of his 
undertaking so dangerous a campaign as the Egyptian war. 
This kept him much longer in Egypt than his affairs required, 
he spending whole nights in feasting and carousing with the 
dissolute queen. ''But," said the prophet, "she shall not 
stand on his side, neither be for him." Cleopatra afterward 
joined herself to Antony, the enemy of Augustus Caesar, and 
exerted her whole power against Rome. 

Verse 18. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall 
take many : but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach 
offered by him to cease ; without his own reproach he shall cause it to 
turn upon him. 

War with Pharnaces, king of the Cimmerian Bosporus, at 
length drew him away from Egypt. "On his arrival where 
the enemy was, " says Frideaux, "he, without giving any res- 
pite either to himself or them, immediately fell on, and gained 
an absolute victory over them; an account whereof he wrote 
to a friend of his in these three words : Veni, vidi, vici ; I 
came, I saw, I conquered." The latter part of this verse is 
involved in some obscurity, and there is difference of opinion 
in regard to its application. Some apply it further back in 
Caesar's life, and think they find a fulfilment in his quarrel 
with Pompey. But preceding and subsequent events clearly 
defined in the prophecy, compel us to look for the fulfilment 
of this part of the prediction between the victory over Pharna- 
ces, and Caesar's death at Rome, as brought to view in the 
following verse. A more full history of this period might 
bring to light events which would render the application of this 
passage unembarrassed. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 18-20. 239 

Verse 19, Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own 
]and : but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. 

After this conquest, Csesar defeated the last remaining frag- 
ments of Pompey's party, Cato and Scipio in Africa, and La- 
bienus and Yarns in Spain. Returning to Rome, the ' ' fort of 
his own land," he was made perpetual dictator; and such other 
powers and honors were granted him as rendered him in fact 
absolute sovereign of the whole empire. But the prophet had 
said that he should stumble and fall. The language implies 
.that his overthrow would be sudden and unexpected, like a 
person accidentally stumbling in his walk. And so this man, 
who had fought and won five hundred battles, taken one thou- 
sand cities, and slain one million one hundred and ninety-two 
thousand men, fell, not in the din of battle and the hour of 
strife, but when he thought his pathway was smooth and 
strewn with flowers, and when danger was supposed to be far 
away ; for, taking his seat in the senate chamber, upon his 
throne of gold, to receive at the hands of that body the title of 
king, the dagger of treachery suddenly struck him to the heart. 
Cassius, Brutus, and other conspirators rushed upon him, and 
he fell, pierced with twenty-three wounds. Thus he suddenly 
stumbled and fell, and was not found, b. o. 44. 

Verse 20. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the 
glory of the kingdom: but within few daj^s he shall be destroyed, neither 
in anger, nor in battle. 

Augustus Caesar succeeded his uncle, Julius, by whom he 
had been adopted as his successor. He publicly announced 
his adoption by his uncle, and took his name, to which he 
added that of Octavianus. Combining with Mark Antony and 
Lepidus to avenge the death of Caesar, they formed what is 
called the triumvirate form of government. Having subse- 
quently firmly established himself in the empire, the senate 
conferred upon him the title of Augustus, and the other mem- 
bers of the Triumvirate being now dead, he became supreme 
ruler. 

He was emphatically a raiser of taxes. Luke, in speaking 
of the events that transpired at the time when Christ was born, 



240 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

says : ** And it came to pass in those days, that there went 
out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should 
be taxed." Luke 2 : 1. That taxing which embraced all the 
world was an event worthy of notice ; and the person who 
enforced it has certainly a claim to the title of " a raiser of 
taxes," above every other competitor. 

The St. Louis Globe Demfiocrat^ as quoted in Current Lit- 
erature for July, 1895, says : '' Augustus Caesar was not the 
public benefactor he is represented. He was the most exact- 
ing tax collector the Koman world had up to that time ever 
seen." 

And he stood up ^'in the glory of the kingdom." Rome 
reached in his days the pinnacle of its greatness and power. 
The * ' Augustan Age " is an expression everywhere used to 
denote the golden age of Roman history. Rome never saw a 
brighter hour. Peace was promoted, justice maintained, lux- 
ury curbed, discipline established, and learning encouraged. 
In his reign, the temple of Janus was for the third time shut 
since the foundation of Rome, signifying that all the world was 
at peace ; and at this auspicious hour our Lord was born in 
Bethlehem of Judea. In a little less than eighteen years after 
the taxing brought to view, seeming but a ''few days " to the 
distant gaze of the prophet, Augustus died, not in anger nor in 
battle, but peacefully in his bed, at Nola, whither he had gone 
to seek repose and health, a. d. 14, in the seventy- sixth year 
of his age. 

Verse 21. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom 
they shall not give the honor of the kingdom : but he shall come in 
peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 

Tiberius Caesar next appeared after Augustus Caesar on the 
Roman throne. lie was raised to the consulate in his twenty- 
eighth year. It is recorded that as Augustus was about to 
nominate his successor, his wife, Livia, besought him to nomi- 
nate Tiberius (her son by a former husband) ; but the emperor 
said, '* Your son is too vUe to wear the purple of Rome ;■' and 
the nomination was given to Agrippa, a very virtuous and 
much-respected Roman citizen. But the prophecy had fore- 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 21. 241 

seen that a vile person should succeed Augustus. Agrippa 
died; and Augustus was again under the necessity of choosing 
a successor. Livia renewed her intercessions for Tiberius; and 
Augustus, weakened by age and sickness, was more easily 
flattered, and finally consented to nominate, as his colleague 
and successor, that "vile" young man. But the citizens 
never gave him the love, respect, and ' ' honor of the king- 
dom," due to an upright and faithful sovereign. 

How clear a fulfilment is this of the prediction that they 
should not give him the honor of the kingdom. But he was to 
come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. A 
paragraph from the Encyclojpedia Americana shows how this 
was fulfilled : — 

" During the remainder of the life of Augustus, he [Tibe- 
rius] behaved with great prudence and ability, concluding a 
war with the Germans in such a manner as to merit a triumph. 
After the defeat of Yarns and his legions, he was sent to check 
the progress of the victorious Germans, and acted in that war 
with equal spirit and prudence. On the death of Augustus, he 
succeeded, without opposition, to the sovereignty of the em- 
pire; which, however, with his characteristic dissimulation, he 
affected to decline, until repeatedly solicited by the servile 
senate." 

Dissimulation on his part, flattery on the part of the servile 
senate, and a possession of the kingdom without opposition — 
such were the circumstances attending his accession to the 
throne, and such were the circumstances for which the proph- 
ecy called. 

The person brought to view in the text is called ' ' a vile 
person." Was such the character sustained by Tiberius? Let 
another paragraph from the Encyclopedia answer: — 

' ' Tacitus records the events of this reign, including the 
suspicious death of Germanicus, the detestable administration 
of Sejanus, the poisoning of Drusus, with all the extraordinary 
mixture of tyranny with occasional wisdom and good sense 
which distinguished the conduct of Tiberius, until his infamous 
and dissolute retirement, a. d. 26, to the isle of Caprese, in the 



242 PROPHECY (W DANIEL. 

bay of Naples, never to return to Rome. On the death of 
Livia, A. D. 29, the only restraint upon his actions and those 
of the detestable Sejanus, was removed, and the destruction of 
the widow and family of Germanicus followed. At length the 
infamous favorite extending his views to the empire itself, Ti- 
berius, informed of his machinations, prepared to encounter 
him with his favorite weapon, dissimulation. Although fully 
resolved upon his destruction, he accumulated honors upon him, 
declared him his partner in the consulate, andj after long play- 
ing with his credulity, and that of the senate,' who thought him 
in greater favor than ever, he artfully prepared for his arrest. 
Sejanus fell deservedly and unpitied; but many innocent per- 
sons shared in his destruction, in consequence of the suspicion 
and cruelty of Tiberius, which now exceeded all limits. The 
remainder of the reign of this tyrant is little more than a dis- 
gusting narrative of servility on the one hand, and of despotic 
ferocity on the other. That he himself endured as much mis- 
ery as he inflicted, is evident from the following commence- 
ment of one of his letters to the senate: 'What I shall write 
to you, conscript fathers, or what I shall not write, or why I 
should write at all, may the gods and goddesses plague me 
more than I feel daily that they are doing, if I can tell.' 
' What mental torture, ' observes Tacitus, in reference to this 
passage, ' which could extort such a confession ! ' " 

'^ Seneca remarks of Tiberius that he was never intoxicated 
but once in his life; for he continued in a state of perpetual 
intoxication from the time he gave himself to drinking, to the 
last moment of his life." 

Tyranny, hypocrisy, debauchery, and uninterrupted intoxi- 
cation — if these traits and practices show a man to be vile, 
Tiberius exhibited that character in disgusting perfection. 

Terse 22. And with the arms of a fh)od shall thoy be overllown 
from before him, and shall be broken ; yea, also the prince of the cove- 
nant. 

Bisho]) Newton presents the following reading as agreeing 
better witli the original: ''And the arms of the overflower 
shall be overflown from before him, and shall be broken."* 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 22. 243 

The expressions signify revolution and violence; and in fulfil- 
ment we should look for the arms of Tiberius, the overflower, 
to be overflown, or, in other words, for him to suffer a violent 
death. To show how this was accomplished, we again have 
recourse to the Encyclopedicb Americana^ art. Tiberius: — 

< ' Acting the hypocrite to the lastj he disguised his increas- 
ing debility as much as he was able, even affecting to join in 
the sports and exercises of the soldiers of his guard. At 
length, leaving his favorite island, the scene of the most dis- 
gusting debaucheries, he stopped at a country house near the 
promontory of Micenum, where, on the 16th of March, 37, he 
sunk into a lethargy, in which he appeared dead; and Caligula 
was preparing with a numerous escort to take possession of the 
empire, when his sudden revival threw them into consterna- 
tion. At this critical instant. Macro, the pretorian prefect, 
caused him to be suffocated with pillows. Thus expired the 
emperor Tiberius, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and 
twenty-third of his reign, universally execrated." 

' ' The prince of the covenant ' ' unquestionably refers to 
Jesus Christ, ' ' the Messiah the Prince, ' ' who was to ' ' con- 
firm the covenant" one week with his people. Dan. 9: 
25-27. The prophet, having taken us down to the death of 
Tiberius, now mentions incidentally an event to transpire in his 
reign, so important that it should not be passed over; namely, 
the cutting off of the Prince of the covenant, or, in other 
words, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to the 
prophecy, this took place in the reign of Tiberius. Luke 
informs us (3 : 1-3) that in the fifteenth year of the reign of 
Tiberius Caesar John the Baptist commenced his ministry. 
The reign of Tiberius is to be reckoned, according to Prideaux, 
Dr. Hales, Lardner, and others, from his elevation to the 
throne to reign jointly with Augustus, his step-father, in Au- 
gust, A. D. 12. His fifteenth year would therefore be from 
August, A. D. 26, to August, a. d. 27. Chi*ist was six months 
younger than John, and is supposed to have commenced his 
ministry six months later, both, according to the law of the 
priesthood, entering upon their work when they were thnty 



244 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

years of age. If John commenced in the spring, in the latter 
portion of Tiberius 's fifteenth year, it would bring the com- 
mencement of Christ's ministry in the autumn of a. d. 27; and 
right here the best authorities place the baptism of Christ, it 
being the exact point where the 483 years from b. c. 457, 
which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince, terminated; 
and Christ went forth proclaiming that the time was fulfilled. 
From this point we go forward three years and a half to find 
the date of the crucifixion; for Christ attended but four Pass- 
overs, and was crucified at the last one. Three and a half 
years from the autumn of a. d. 27, bring us to the spring of 
A. D. 31. The death of Tiberius is placed but six years later, 
in A. D. 37. (See on chapter 9 : 25-27.) 

Verse 23. And after the league made M^ith him he shall work de- 
ceitfully : for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small 
people. 

The ''him " with whom the league here spoken of is made, 
must be the same power which has been the subject of the 
prophecy from the 14th verse; and that this is the Roman 
power is shown beyond controversy in the fulfilment of the 
prophecy in three individuals, as already noticed, who succes- 
sively ruled over the Roman empire; namely, Julius, Augus- 
tus, and Tiberius Caesar. The first, on returning to the fort of 
his own land in triumph, stumbled and fell, and was not found. 
Yerse 19. The second was a raiser of taxes; and he reigned 
in the glory of the kingdom, and died neither in anger nor in 
battle, but peacefully in his own bed. Verse 20. The third 
was a dissembler, and one of the vilest of characters. He 
entered upon the kingdom peaceably, but both his reign and 
life were ended by violence. And in his reign the Prince of 
the covenant, Jesus of Nazareth, wiis put to death upon the 
cross. Yerses 21, 22. Christ can never be broken or put to 
death again; hence in no other government, and at no other 
time, can we find a fulfilment of these events. Some attempt 
to apply these verses to Antiochus, and nuike one of the Jew- 
ish high priests the prince of the covenant, though they are 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 23. 245 

never called such. This is the same kind of reasoning which 
endeavors to make the reign of Antiochus a fulfilment of the 
little horn of Daniel 8 ; and it is offered for the same purpose ; 
namely, to break the great chain of evidence by which it is 
shown that the Advent doctrine is the doctrine of the Bible, 
and that Christ is now at the door. But the evidence cannot 
be overthrown; the chain cannot be broken. 

Having taken us down through the secular events of the 
empire to the end of the seventy weeks, the prophet, in verse 
23, takes us back to the time when the Komans became directly 
connected with the people of God by the Jewish league, b. c. 
16 J ; from which point we are then taken down in a direct line 
of events to the final triumph of the church, and the setting up 
of God's everlasting kingdom. The Jews, being grievously 
oppressed by the Syrian kings, sent an embassy to Kome, to 
solicit the aid of the Romans, and to join themselves in "a 
league of amity and confederacy with them." 1 Mac. 8 ; 
Prideaux, II, 166; Josephus's Antiquities, book 12, chap. 10, 
sec. 6. The Komans listened to the request of the Jews, and 
granted them a decree, couched in these words : — 

' ' The decree of the senate concerning a league of assistance 
and friendship with the nation of the Jews. It shall not be 
lawful for any that are subject to the Romans, to make war 
with the nation of the Jews, nor to assist those that do so, 
either by sending them corn, or ships, or money; and if any 
attack be made upon the Jews, the Romans shall assist them 
as far as they are able ; and again, if any attack be made upon 
the Romans, the Jews shall assist them. And if the Jews 
have a mind to add to, or to take from, this league of assist- 
ance, that shall be done with the common consent of the Ro- 
mans. And whatever addition shall thus be made, it shall be 
of force." *^ This decree," says Josephus, '* was written by 
Eupolemus, the son of John, and by Jason, the son of Eleazer, 
when Judas was high priest of the nation, and Simon, his 
brother, was general of the army. And this was the first 
league that the Romans made with the Jews, and was managed 
after this manner." 



246 PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 

At this time the Eomans were a small people, and began to 
work deceitfully, or with cunning, as the word signifies. And 
from this point they rose by a steady and rapid ascent to the 
bight of power which they afterward attained. 

Verse 24. He shall enter peacefully even upon the fattest places of 
the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor 
his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter amons^ them the prey, and spoil, 
and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds, 
even for a time. 

The usual manner in which nations had, before the days of 
Eome, entered upon valuable provinces and rich territory, was 
by war and conquest. Rome was now to do what had not 
been done by the fathers or the fathers' fathers ; namely, re- 
ceive these acquisitions through peaceful means. The custom, 
before unheard of, was now inaugurated, of kings' leaving by 
legacy their kingdoms to the Komans. Rome came into pos- 
session of large provinces in this manner. 

And those who thus came under the dominion of Rome de- 
rived no small advantage therefrom. They were treated with 
kindness and leniency. It was like having the prey and spoil 
distributed among them. They were protected from their ene- 
mies, and rested in peace and safety under the aegis of the 
Roman power. 

To the latter portion of this verse, Bishop Kewton gives the 
idea of forecasting devices from strongholds, instead of against 
them. This the Romans did from the strong fortress of their 
seven-hilled city. <' Even for a time; " doubtless a prophetic 
time, 360 years. From what point are these years to be 
dated % Probably from the event brought to view in the fol- 
lowing verse. 

Verse 25. And he shall stir up his power and his couarge against 
the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall 
be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall 
not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. 

By verses 23 and 24, we are brought down this side of the 
league between the Jews and the Romans, b. c. lOl, to the 
time when Rome had acquired universal dominion. The verse 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 24, 25. 247 

now before us brings to view a vigorous campaign against tiie 
king of the south, Egypt, and the occurrence of a notable 
battle between great and mighty armies. Did such events as 
these transpire in the history of Rome about this time ? — They 
did. The war was the war between Egypt and Eome ; and 
the battle was the battle of Actium. Let us take a brief view 
of the circumstances that led to this conflict. 

Mark Antony, Augustus Caesar, and Lepidus constituted 
the Triumvirate which had sworn to avenge the death of Julius 
Caesar. This Antony became the brother-in-law of Augustus 
by marrying his sister, Octavia. Antony was sent into Egypt 
on government business, but fell a victim to the arts and 
charms of Cleopatra, Egypt's dissolute queen. So strong was 
the passion he conceived for her, that he finally espoused 
the Egyptian interests, rejected his wife, Octavia, to please 
Cleopatra, bestowed province after province upon the latter to 
gratify her avarice, celebrated a triumph at Alexandria instead 
of Rome, and otherwise so affronted the Roman people that 
Augustus had no difficulty in leading them to engage heartily 
in a war against this enemy of their country. The war was 
ostensibly against Egypt and Cleopatra ; but it was really 
against Antony, who now stood at the head of Egyptian affairs. 
And the true cause of their controversy was, says Prideaux, 
that neither of them could be content with only half of the 
Roman empire ; for Lepidus having been deposed from the 
Triumvirate, it now lay between them, and each being deter- 
mined to possess the whole, they cast the die of war for its 
possession. 

Antony assembled his fleet at Samos. Five hundred ships 
of war, of extraordinary size and structure, having several 
decks one above another, with towers upon the head and stern, 
made an imposing and formidable array. These ships carried 
two hundred thousand foot, and twelve thousand horse. The 
kings of Libya, Cilicia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Comagena, 
and Thrace, were there in person; and those of Pontus, Judea, 
Lycaonia, Galatia, and Media, had sent their troops. A more 
splendid and gorgeous military spectacle than this fleet of 
19 



248 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

battle ships, as they spread their sails, and moved out upon 
the bosom of the sea, the world has rarely seen. Surpassing 
all in magnificence came the galley of Cleopatra, floating like 
a palace of gold beneath a cloud of purple sails. Its flags and 
streamers fluttered in the wind, and trumpets and other instru- 
ments of war, made the heavens resound with notes of joy and 
triumph. Antony followed close after in a galley of almost 
equal magnificence. And the giddy queen, intoxicated with 
the sight of the warlike array, short-sighted and vainglorious, 
at the head of her infamous troop of eunuchs, foolishly threat- 
ened the Roman capital with approaching ruin. 

Caesar Augustus, on the other hand, displayed less pomp 
but more utility. He had but half as many ships as Antony, 
and only eighty thousand foot. But all his troops were chosen 
men, and on board his fleet were none but experienced seamen; 
whereas Antony, not finding mariners sufficient, had been 
obliged to man his vessels with artisans of every class, men 
inexperienced, and better calculated to cause trouble than to do 
real service in time of battle. The season being far consumed 
in these preparations, Caesar made his rendezvous at Brundu- 
sium, and Antony at Corcyra, till the following year. 

As soon as the season permitted, both armies were put in 
motion on both sea and land. The fleets at length entered the 
Ambracian Gulf in Epirus, and the land forces were drawn up 
on either shore in plain view. Antony's most experienced 
generals advised him not to hazard a battle by sea with his 
inexperienced mariners, but to send Cleopatra back to Egypt, 
and hasten at once into Thrace or Macedonia, and trust the 
issue to his land forces, who were composed of veteran troops. 
But he, illustrating the old adage, Quern Deus vult jperdere^ 
prius dementat (whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes 
mad), infatuated by Cleopatra, seemed only desirous of pleas- 
ing her ; and she, trusting to appearances only, deemed her 
fleet invincible, and advised immediate action. 

The battle was fought Sept. 2, b. c. 31, at the mouth of 
the gulf of Ambracia, near the city of Actium. The world 
was the stake for which these stern warriors, Antony and 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 26, 27. 249 

Caesar, now played. The contest, long doubtful, was at length 
decided by the course which Cleopatra pursued; for she, 
frightened at the din of battle, took to flight when there was 
no danger, and drew after her the whole Egyptian fleet. 
Antony, beholding this movement, and lost to everything but 
his blind passion for her, precipitately followed, and yielded a 
victory to Csesar, which, had his Egyptian forces proved true 
to him, and had he proved true to his own manhood, he might 
have gained. 

This battle doubtless marks the commencement of the 
^' time" mentioned in verse 24. And as during this "time" 
devices were to be forecast from the stronghold, or Rome, we 
should conclude that at the end of that period western suprem- 
acy would cease, or such a change take place in the empire 
that that city would no longer be considered the seat of gov- 
ernment. From B. c. 31, a prophetic time, or 360 years, 
would bring us to a. d. 330. And it hence becomes a note- 
worthy fact that the seat of empire was removed from Rome to 
Constantinople by Constantine the Great in that very year. 
(See Encyclopedia Americana^ art. Constantinople.) 

Yerse 26. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall de- 
stroy him, and his army shall overflow : and many shall fall down slain. 

The cause of Antony's overthrow was the desertion of his 
allies and friends, those that fed of the portion of his meat. 
First, Cleopatra, as already described, suddenly withdrew 
from the battle, taking sixty ships of the line with her. Sec- 
ondly, the land army, disgusted with the infatuation of Antony, 
went over to Caesar, who received them with open arms. 
Thirdly, when Antony arrived at Libya, he found that the 
forces which he had there left under Scarpus to guard the 
frontier, had declared for Caesar. Fourthly, being followed by 
Caesar into Egypt, he was betrayed by Cleopatra, and his 
forces surrendered to Caesar. Hereupon, in rage and despair, 
he took his own life. 

Yerse 27. And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and 
they shall speak lies at one table ; but it shall not prosper : for yet the 
end shall be at the time appointed. 

q 



250 I^ROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Antony and Caesar were formerly in alliance. Yet under 
the garb of friendship, they were both aspiring and intriguing 
for universal dominion. Their protestations of deference to, 
and friendship for, each other, were the utterances of hypo- 
crites. They spoke lies at one table. Octavia, the wife of 
Antony and sister of Caesar, declared to the people of Eome at 
the time Antony divorced her, that she had consented to marry 
him solely with the hope that it would prove a pledge of union 
between Caesar and Antony. But that counsel did not prosper. 
The rupture came; and in the conflict that ensued, Caesar 
came off entirely victorious. 

Verse 28. Then shall he return into his laud with great riches ; and 
his heart shall be against the holj' covenant ; and he shall do exploiti, 
and return to his own land. 

Two returnings from foreign conquest are here brought to 
view ; the first, after the events narrated .in verses 26 and 27, 
and the second, after this power had had indignation against 
the holy covenant, and had performed exploits. The first was 
fulfilled in the return of Caesar after his expedition against 
Egypt and Antony. He returned to Rome with abundant 
honors and riches; for, says Prideaux (II, 380), "At this time 
such vast riches were brought to Rome from Egypt on the re- 
ducing of that country, and the return of Octavianus [Caesar] 
and his army from thence, that the value of money fell one 
half, and the price of provisions and all vendible wares was 
doubled thereon." Caesar celebrated his victories in a three- 
days' triumph, — a triumph which Cleopatra herself would 
have graced, as one of the royal captives, had she not art- 
fully caused herself to be bitten by the fatal asp. 

The next great enterprise of the Romans after the over- 
throw of Egypt, was the expedition against Judea, and the 
capture and destruction of Jerusalem. The holy covenant is 
doubtless the covenant which God has maintained with his peo- 
ple, under different forms, in different ages of the world, that 
is, with all believers in him. The Jews rejected Christ ; and, 
accoi'ding to the prophecy that all who would not liear that 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 28. 251 

prophet should be cut oflf, they were destroyed out of theu- own 
land, and scattered to every nation under heaven. And while 
Jews and Christians alike suffered under the oppressive hands 
of the Romans, it was doubtless in the reduction of Judea 
especially, that the exploits mentioned in the text were ex- 
hibited. 

Under Yespasian the Romans invaded Judea, and took the 
cities of Galilee, Chorazm, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, where 
Christ had been rejected. They destroyed the inhabitants, 
and left nothing but ruin and desolation. Titus besieged Jeru- 
salem. He drew a trench around it, according to the predic- 
tion of the Saviom*. A terrible famine ensued, the equal of 
which the world has, perhaps, at no other time witnessed. 
Moses had predicted that in the terrible calamities to come 
upon the Jews if they departed from God, even the tender and 
delicate woman should eat her own children in the straitness of 
the siege wherewith their enemies should distress them. Un- 
der the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, a literal fulfilment of this 
prediction occurred; and he, hearing of the inhuman deed, but 
forgetting that he was the one who was driving them to such 
direful extremities, swore the eternal extirpation of the ac- 
cursed city and people. 

Jerusalem fell in a. d. TO. As an honor to himself, the 
Roman commander had determined to save the temple; but 
the Lord had said that there should not remain one stone upon 
another which should not be thrown down. A Roman soldier 
seized a brand of fire, and, climbing upon the shoulders of his 
comrades, thrust it into one of the windows of the beautiful 
structure. It was soon in the arms of the devouring element. 
The frantic efforts of the Jews to extinguish the flames were 
seconded by Titus himself, but all in vain. Seeing that the 
temple must perish, Titus rushed in, and bore away the golden 
candlestick, the table of show-bread, and the volume of the 
law, wrapped in golden tissue. The candlestick was afterward 
deposited in Vespasian's Temple to Peace, and copied on the 
triumphal arch of Titus, where its mutilated image is yet to 
be seen. 



252 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

The siege of Jerusalem lasted five mouths. In that siege 
eleven hundred thousand Jews perished, and ninety-seven 
thousand were taken prisoners. The city was so amazingly 
strong that Titus exclaimed, when viewing the ruins, <'We 
have fought with the assistance of God;" but it was com- 
pletely leveled, and the foundations of the temple were plowed 
up by Tarentius Kufus. The duration of the whole war was 
seven years, and one million four hundred and sixty-two thou- 
sand (1,462,000) persons are said to have fallen victims to its 
awful horrors. 

Thus this power performed great exploits, and again re- 
turned to his own land. 

Verse 29. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward 
the south ; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 

The time appointed is probably the prophetic time of verse 
24, which has been previously mentioned. It closed, as already 
shown, in a. d. 330, at which time this power was to return 
and come again toward the south, but not as on the former oc- 
casion, when it went to Egypt, nor as the latter, when it went 
to Judea. Those were expeditions which resulted in conquest 
and glory. This one led to demoralization and ruin. The 
removal of the seat of empire to Constantinople was the signal 
for the downfall of the empire. Eome then lost its prestige. 
The western division was exposed to the incursions of foreign 
enemies. On the death of Constantino, the Eoman empii*e 
was divided into three parts, between his three sons, Con- 
stantius, Constantine II, and Constans. Constantine II and 
Constans quarreled, and Constans, being victor, gained the 
supremacy of the whole West. He was soon slain by one of 
liis commanders, who, in turn, was shortly after defeated by 
the surviving emperor, and in despair ended his own days, 
A. 1). 353. The barbarians of the North now began their in- 
cursions, and extended their conquests till the imperial power 
of the West expii-ed in a. d. 476. 

This was indeed different from tlie two former movements 
brought to view in the prophecy; and to tliis the fatal step 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 29, 30. 253 

of removing the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople 
directly led. 

Verse 80. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him : there- 
fore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the 
holy covenant : so shall he do ; he shall even return, and have intelli- 
gence with them that forsake the holy covenant. 

The prophetic narrative still has reference to the power 
which has been the subject of the prophecy from the sixteenth 
verse; namely, Rome. What were the ships of Chittim that 
came against this power, and when was this movement made? 
What country or power is meant by Chittim ? Dr. A. Clarke, 
on Isa. 23 : 1, has this note : ''From the land of Chittim, it is 
revealed to them. The news of the destruction of Tyre by 
Nebuchadnezzar, is said to be brought to them from Chittim, 
the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean ; for the Tyrians, 
says Jerome, on verse 6, when they saw they had no other 
means of escape, fled in their ships, and took refuge in Car- 
thage, and in the islands of the Ionian and -^gean Seas. So 
also Jochri on the same place." Kitto gives the same locality 
to Chittim; namely, the coast and islands of the Mediterranean; 
and the mind is carried by the testimony of Jerome to a definite 
and celebrated city situated in that land; that is Carthage. 

Was ever a naval warfare, with Carthage as a base of 
operations, waged against the Roman empire ? We have but 
to think of the terrible onslaught of the Yandals upon Rome 
under the fierce Genseric, to answer readily in the afiirmative. 
Sallying every spring from the port of Carthage at the head 
of his numerous and well-disciplined naval forces, he spread 
consternation through all the maritime provinces of the empire. 
That this is the work brought to view is further evident when 
we consider that we are brought down in the prophecy to this 
very time. In verse 29, the transfer of empire to Constan- 
tinople we understand to be mentioned. Following in due 
course of time, as the next remarkable revolution, came the 
irruptions of the barbarians of the North, prominent among 
which was the Yandal v/ar already mentioned. The years 
A. D. 428-468 mark the career of Genseric. 



254 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

*' He shall be grieved and return." This may have refer- 
ence to the desperate efforts which were made to dispossess 
Genseric of the sovereignty of the seas, the first by Majorian, 
the second by Leo, both of which proved to be utter failures; 
and Rome was obliged to submit to the humiliation of seeing 
its provinces ravaged, and its *' eternal city" pillaged by the 
enemy. (See on Rev. 8:8.) 

''Indignation against the covenant;" that is, the Holy 
Scriptures, the book of the covenant. A revolution of this 
nature was accomplished in Rome. The Heruli, Goths, and 
Yandals, who conquered Rome, embraced the Arian faith, and 
became enemies of the Catholic Church. It was especially for 
the purpose of exterminating this heresy that Justinian decreed 
the pope to be the head of the church and the corrector of 
heretics. The Bible soon came to be regarded as a dangerous 
book that should not be read by the common people, but all 
questions in dispute were to be submitted to the pope. Thus 
was indignity heaped upon God's word. And the emperors of 
Rome, the eastern division of which still continued, had intelli- 
gence, or connived with the Church of Rome, which had for- 
saken the covenant, and constituted the great apostasy, for the 
purpose of putting down ''heresy." The man of sin was 
raised to his presumptuous throne by the defeat of the Arian 
Goths, who then held possession of Rome, in a. d. 538. 

Verse 31. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute 
the sanctuary of streno^th, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and 
they shall place the abomination ^jhat maketh desolate. 

The power of the empire was committed to the carrying on 
of the work before mentioned. " And they shall pollute the 
sanctuary of strength," or Rome. If this applies to the barba- 
rians, it was literally fulfilled; for Rome was sacked by the 
Goths, and Yandals, and the imperial power of the West 
ceased through the conquest of Rome by Odoacer. Or if it 
refers to those rulers of the empire who were working in behalf 
of the papacy against the pagan and all other opposing relig- 
ions, it would signify the removal of the seat of empire from 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 31. 255 

Rome to Constantinople, which contributed its measure of 
influence to the downfall of Rome. The passage would then 
be parallel to Dan. 8 ' 11 and Rev„ 13 : 2. 

^^And thej shall take away the daily sacrifice." It was 
shown, on DaUo 8 : 13, that sacrifice is a word erroneously 
supplied; that it should be desolation j and that the expression 
denotes a desolating power, of which the abomination of deso- 
lation is but the counterpart, and to which it succeeds in point 
of time. The '' daily ' ' desolation was paganism, the ' « abomina- 
tion of desolation ' ' is the papacy. But it may be asked how this 
can be the papacy; since Christ spoke of it in connection with the 
destruction of Jerusalem. And the answer is, Christ evidently 
referred to the ninth of Daniel, which is a prediction of the 
destruction of Jerusalem, and not to this verse of chapter 11, 
which does not refer to that event, Daniel, in the ninth chap- 
ter, speaks of desolations and abominations, plural. More 
than one abomination, therefore, treads down the church; that 
is, so far as the church is concerned, both paganism and the 
papacy are abominationso But as distinguished from each 
other, the language is restricted, and one is the ^ ' daily ' ' 
desolation, and the other is pre-eminently the transgression 
or ^ ^ abomination ' ' of desolation. 

How was the daily, or paganism, taken away ? As this is 
spoken of in connection with the placing or setting up of the 
abomination of desolation, or the papacy, it must denote, not 
merely the nominal change of the religion of the empire from 
paganism to Christianity, as on the conversion, so-called, of 
Constantine, but such an eradication of paganism from all the 
elements of the empire, that the way would be all open for the 
papal abomination to arise and assert its arrogant claims. 
Such a revolution as this, plainly defined, was accomplished; 
but not for nearly two hundred years after the death of Con- 
stantine,, 

As we approach the year a. d. 508, we behold a grand 
crisis ripening between Catholicism and the pagan influences 
still existing in the empire. Up to the time of the conversion 
of Clovis, king of France, a. d, 496, the French and other 



256 PROPHEC-Y OF DANIET.. 

nations of Western Rome were pagan; but subsequently to 
that event, the efforts to convert idolaters to Romanism were 
crowned with great success. The conversion of Clovis is said 
to have been the occasion of bestowing upon the French mon- 
arch the titles of ^' Most Christian Majesty," and "Eldest Son 
of the Church." Between that time and a. d. 508, by alli- 
ances, capitulations, and conquests, the Arborici, the Roman 
garrisons in the West, Brittany, the Burgundians, and the 
Visigoths, were brought into subjection. 

From the time when these successes were fully accom- 
plished, namely, 508, the papacy was triumphant so far as 
paganism was concerned; for though the latter doubtless re- 
tarded the progress of the Catholic faith, yet it had not the 
power, if it had the disposition, to suppress the faith, and 
hinder the encroachments of the Roman pontiff. When the 
prominent powers of Europe gave up their attachment to pa- 
ganism, it was only to perpetuate its abominations in another 
form; for Christianity, as exhibited in the Catholic Church, 
was, and is, only paganism baptized. 

In England, Arthur, the first Christian king, founded the 
Christian worship on the ruins of the pagan. Rapin (book. 2, 
p. 124), who claims to be exact in the chronology of events, 
states that he was elected monarch of Britain in 508. 

The condition of the See of Rome was also peculiar at this 
time. In 498, Symmachus ascended the pontifical throne as a 
recent convert from paganism. He reigned to A. u. 514. lie 
found his way to the papal chair, says Du Pin, by striving 
with his competitor even unto blood. He received adulation 
as the successor of St. Peter, and struck the key-note of papal 
assumption by presuming to excommunicate the emperor An- 
astasius. The most servile flatterers of the pope now began to 
maintain that he was constituted judge in the place of God, 
and that he was the vicegerent of the Most High. 

Such was the direction in which events were tending in the 
West. What posture did affairs at the same time assume in 
the East? A strong papal party now existed in all parts of the 
em])ire. The adherents of this cause in C'onstantinoplo, en- 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 31. 257 

couraged bv the success of their brethren in the West, deemed 
it safe to commence open hostilities in behalf of their master at 
Kome. In 508 their partizan zeal culminated in a whirlwind of 
fanaticism and civil war, which swept in fire and blood through 
the streets of the eastern capital. Gibbon, under the years SOS- 
SIS, speaking of the commotions in Constantinople, says : — 

' ' The statues of the emperor were broken, and his person 
was concealed in a suburb, till, at the end of three days, he 
dared to implore the mercy of his subjects. Without his dia- 
dem, and in the posture of a suppliant, Anastasius appeared 
on the throne of the circus. The Catholics, before his face, 
rehearsed the genuine Trisagion; they exulted in the offer 
which he proclaimed by the voice of a herald of abdicating the 
purple; they listened to the admonition that, since all could 
not reign, they should previously agree in the choice of a sov- 
ereign; and they accepted the blood of two unpopular ministers, 
whom their master, without hesitation, condemned to the lions. 
These furious but transient seditions were encouraged by the 
success of Yitalian, who, with an army of Huns and Bulga- 
rians, for the most part idolaters, declared himself the cham- 
pion of the Catholic faith. In this pious rebellion he depopu- 
lated Thrace, besieged Constantinople, exterminated sixty-five 
thousand of his fellow Christians, till he obtained the recall of 
the bishops, the satisfaction of the pope, and the establishment 
of the Council of Chalcedon, an orthodox treaty, reluctantly 
signed by the dying Anastasius, and more faithfully performed 
by the uncle of Justinian. And such was the event of the first 
of the religious wars which have been waged in the name, and 
by the disciples, of the God of Peace," — Decline and Fall., 
Vol. 77, p. 526. 

Let it be marked that in this year, 5 OS, paganism had so 
far declined, and Catholicism had so far relatively increased in 
strength, that the Catholic Church ior the fii'st time waged a 
successful war against both the civil authority of the empire 
and the church of the East, which had for the most part em- 
braced the Monophysite doctrine. The extermination of 65,000 
heretics w^as the result. 



258 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

AVith the following extract, we close the testimony on this 
point : — 

' ' We now invite our modern Gamaliels to take a position 
with us in the place of the sanctuary of paganism (since claimed 
as the ' patrimony of St. Peter ') in 508. We look a few years 
into the past, and the rude paganism of the northern barbarians 
is pouring down upon the nominally Christian empire of West- 
ern Home, triumphing everywhere, and its triumphs everywhere 
distinguished by the most savage cruelty. . . . The empire 
falls, and is broken into fragments. One by one the lords 
and rulers of these fragments abandon their paganism, and 
profess the Christian faith. In religion the conquerors are 
yielding to the conquered. But still paganism is triumphant. 
Among its supporters there is one stern and successful con- 
queror (Clovis) ; but soon he also bows before the power of the 
new faith, and becomes its champion. He is still triumphant, 
but, as a hero and conqueror, reaches the zenith at the point 
we occupy, a. d. 508. 

*' In or near the same year, the last important subdivision 
of the fallen empire is publicly, and by the coronation of its 
triumphant * monarch, ' Christianized. 

" The pontiff for the period on which we stand, is a recently 
converted pagan. The bloody contest which placed him in the 
chair was decided by the interposition of an Arian king. He 
is bowed to and saluted as filling 'the place of God on earth.' 
The senate is so far under his power that on suspicion that the 
interests of the See of Kome demand it, they excommunicate the 
emperor. . . . In 508 the mine is sprung beneath the throne 
of the Eastern empire. The result of the confusion and strife 
it occasions is the humiliation of its rightful lord. Now the 
question is, At what time was paganism so far suppressed as to 
make room for its substitute and successor, tlwpajxil abomina- 
tion f When was this abomination placed in a position to start 
on its career of blasphemy and blood ? Is there any otJur date 
for its being ^placed^^ or ' set uj)^^ in. the room of jyaganum but 
608 f If the mysterious enchantress has not now brought all 
her victims within her power, she has taken her position, and 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 31. 259 

some have yielded to the fascination. The others are at length 
subdued; 'and kings, and peoples, and multitudes, and na- 
tions,' and tongues ' are brought under the spell which prepares 
them, even while ' drunken with the blood of the martyrs of 
Jesus, ' to ' think they are doing God service, ' and to fancy 
themselves the exclusive favorites of Heaven while becoming 
an easier and richer prey for the damnation of hell." — /Second 
Advent Mamual^ pp, 79-81, 

From these evidences we think it clear that the daily, or 
paganism, was taken away in a. d. 508. This was prepara- 
tory to the setting up, or establishment, of the papacy, which 
was a separate and subsequent event. Of this the prophetic 
narrative now leads us to speak. 

" And they shall place the abomination that maketh deso- 
lateo" Having shown quite fully what constituted the taking 
away of the daily, or paganism, we now inquire. When was 
the abomination that maketh desolate, or the papacy, placed, 
or set up ? The little horn that had eyes like the eyes of man 
was not slow to see when the way was open for his advance- 
ment and elevation. From the year 608 his progress toward 
universal supremacy was without a parallel. 

When Justinian was about to commence the Yandal war, 
A. D. 533, an enterprise of no small magnitude and difficulty, 
he wished to secure the influence of the bishop of Kome, who 
had then attained a position in which his opinion had great 
weight throughout a large portiou of Christendom. Justinian 
therefore took it upon himself to decide the contest which had 
long existed between the sees of Rome and Constantinople as 
to which should have the precedency, by giving the preference 
to Rome, and declaring, in the fullest and most unequivocal 
terms, that the bishop of that city should be chief of the 
whole ecclesiastical body of the empire. A work on the 
Apocalypse, by Rev. George Croly, of England, published in 
1827, presents a detailed account of the events by which the 
supremacy of the pope of Rome was secured. He gives the 
following as the terms in which the letter of Justinian was 
expressed : — 



2(;0 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

"Justinian, pioiis, fortunate, renowned, triumphant, em- 
peror, consul, etc., to John, the most holy archbishop of our 
city of Rome, and patriarch. 

" Rendering honor to the apostolic chair and to your holi- 
ness, as has been always, and is, our wish, and honoring your 
blessedness as a father, we have hastened to bring to the 
knowledge of your holiness all matters relating to the state of 
the churches; it having been at all times our great desire to 
preserve the unity of your apostolic chair, and the constitution 
of the holy churches of God, which has obtained hitherto, and 
still obtains. 

"Therefore we have made no delay in snibjecting and 
uniting to your holiness all the priests of the vjhole East. . , . 
We cannot suffer that anything which relates to the state of 
the church, however manifest and unquestionable, should be 
moved without the knowledge of your holiness, who is the 
Head of all the Holt Churches ; for in all things, as we 
have already declared, we are anxious to increase the honor 
and authority of your apostolic chair."- — Croly^ 2^JP' ^^i-y -^^'^• 

" The emperor's letter," continues Mr. Croly, "must have 
been sent before the 25th of March, 533; for in his letter of 
that date to Epiphanius, he speaks of its having been already 
despatched, and repeats his decision that all affairs touching 
the church shall be referred to the pope, ' head of all bishops, 
and the true and effective corrector of heretics. ' ' ' 

The pope, in his answer, returned the same month of the 
following year, 534, observes that among the virtues of Jus- 
tinian, "one shines as a star, — his reverence for the apostolic 
chair, to which he has subjected and united all the churches, 
it being truly the head of all." 

Tlie "Novelise" of the Justinian code give unanswerable 
proof of the authenticity of the title. The preamble of the i>th 
states that "as the elder Rome was the founder of the laws, S(> 
was it not to be questioned that in her was the supremacy of 
the Pontificate." The 131st, on the ecclesiastical titles and 
privileges, chapter 2, states: "We therefore decree that the 
most holy pope of the elder Rome is the first of all the priest- 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 31. 261 

hood, and that the most blessed archbishop of Constantinople, 
the new Rome, shall hold the second rank after the holy apos- 
tolic chair of the elder Rome." 

Toward the close of the sixth century, John of Constanti- 
nople denied the Roman supremacy, and assumed for himself 
the title of universal bishop; whereupon, Gregory the great, 
indignant at the usurpation, denounced John, and declared, 
with unconscious truth, that he who would assume the title of 
universal bishop was Antichrist. Phocas, in 606, suppressed 
the claim of the bishop of Constantinople, and vindicated that 
of the bishop of Rome. But Phocas was not the founder of 
papal supremacy. Says Croly, ''That Phocas repressed the 
claim of the bishop of Constantinople is beyond a doubt. But 
the highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of 
Rome, spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the 
supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only 
legitimate source, and rightly date the title from the memo- 
rable year 533." Again he says : ''On reference to Baronius, 
the established authority among the Roman Catholic annalists, 
I found the whole detail of Justinian's grants of supremacy to 
the pope formally given. The entire transaction was of the 
most authentic and regular kind, and suitable to the impor- 
tance of the transfer." — Apocalypse^ p. 8. 

Such were the circumstances attending the decree of Jus- 
tinian. But the provisions of this decree could not at once be 
carried into effect; for Rome and Italy were held by the Os- 
trogoths, who were Arians in faith, and strongly opposed to 
the religion of Justinian and the pope. It was therefore evi- 
dent that the Ostrogoths must be rooted out of Rome before 
the pope could exercise the power with which he had been 
clothed. To accomplish this object, the Italian war was com- 
menced in 534. The management of the campaign was en- 
trusted to Belisarius. On his approach toward Rome, several 
cities forsook Yitijes, their Gothic and heretical sovereign, and 
joined the armies of the Catholic emperor. The Goths, deci- 
ding to delay offensive operations till spring, allowed Belisarius 
to enter Rome without opposition, ' ' The deputies of the pope 



262 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

and clergy, of the senate and people, invited the lieutenant of 
Justinian to accept their voluntary allegiance." 

Belisarius entered Kome Dec. 10, 536. But this was not 
an end of the struggle; for the Goths, rallying their forces, re- 
solved to dispute his possession of the city by a regular siege. 
They commenced in March, 537. Belisarius feared despair 
and treachery on the part of the people. Several senators, and 
Pope Sylverius, on proof or suspicion of treason, were sent 
into exile. The emperor commanded the clergy to elect a new 
bishop. After solemnly invoking the Holy Ghost, says Gib- 
bon, they elected the deacon Yigilius, who, by a bribe of two 
hundred pounds of gold, had purchased the honor. 

The whole nation of the Ostrogoths had been assembled for 
the siege of Rome; but success did not attend their efforts. 
Their hosts melted away in frequent and bloody combats under 
the city walls ; and the year and nine days during which the 
siege lasted, witnessed almost the entire consumption of the 
whole nation. In the month of March, 53S, dangers begin- 
ning to threaten them from other quarters, they raised the 
siege, burned their tents, and retired in tumult and confusion 
from the city, with numbers scarcely sufficient to preserve 
their existence as a nation or their identity as a people. 

Thus the Gothic horn, the last of the three, was plucked up 
before the little horn of Daniel 7. Nothing now stood in the 
way of the pope to prevent his exercising the power conferred 
upon him by Justinian five years before. The saints, times, 
and laws were now in his hands, not in purpose only, but in 
fact. And this must therefore be taken as the year when this 
abomination was placed, or set up, and as the point from 
which to date the predicted 1260 years of its supremacy. 

Verse. 32. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he 
corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be 
strong, and do exploits. 

Those that forsake the covenant, the holy Scriptures, and 
think more of the decrees of popes and the decisions of councils 
than they do of the word of God, — these shall he, the pope, 



CHAPTER 11. VERSES 32-34. 263 

corrupt by flatteries ; that is, lead them on in their partisan 
zeal for himself by the bestowment of wealth, position, and 
honors. 

At the same time a people shall exist who know their God; 
and these shall be strong, and do exploits. These were those 
who kept pure religion alive in the earth during the dark ages 
of papal tyranny, and performed marvelous acts of self-sacrifice 
and religious heroism in behalf of their faith. Prominent 
among these stand the Waldenses, Albigenses, Huguenots, etc. 

Verse 33. And they that understand among the people shall instruct 
many, j^et they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and 
bj^ spoil, many days. 

The long period of papal persecution against those who 
were struggling to maintain the truth and instruct their fellow 
men in ways of righteousness, is here brought to view. The 
number of the days during which they were thus to fall is 
given in Dan. 7: 25; 12: 7 ; Kev. 12 : 6, 14 ; 13 : 5. The pe- 
riod is called, " a time, times, and the dividing of time; " '' a 
time, times, and a half; " "a thousand two hundred and three- 
score days;" and ''forty and two months." -It is the 1260 
years of papal supremacy. 

Verse 34. Now when they shall fall, thej shall be holpen with a little 
help, but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 

In Revelation 12, where this same papal persecution is 
brought to view, we read that the earth helped the woman by 
opening her mouth, and swallowing up the flood which the 
dragon cast out after her. The great Reformation by Luther 
and his co-workers furnished the help here foretold. The Ger- 
man states espoused the Protestant cause, protected the reform- 
ers, and restrained the work of persecution so furiously carried 
on by the papal church. But when they should be helped, and 
the cause begin to become popular, many were to cleave unto 
them with flatteries, or embrace the cause from unworthy 
motives, be insincere, hollow-hearted, and speak smooth and 
friendly words through a policy of self-interest. 

30 



264 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Verse 35. And some of them of understanding:^ shall fall, to try them, 
and to purg'e, and to make them white, even to the tiiTie of the end: be- 
cause it is yet for a time appointed. 

Though restrained, the sphit of persecution was not de- 
stroyed. It broke out wherever there was opportunity. Espe- 
cially was this the case in England. The religious state of 
that kingdom was fluctuating, it being sometimes under Prot- 
estant, and sometimes papal jurisdiction, according to the 
religion of the ruling house. The bloody Queen Mary was a 
mortal enemy to the Protestant cause, and multitudes fell vic- 
tims to her relentless persecutions. And this condition of 
affairs was to last more or less to the time of the end. The 
natural conclusion would be that when the time of the end 
should come, this power which the Church of Rome had pos- 
sessed to punish heretics, which had been the cause of so much 
persecution, and which had for a time been restrained, would 
now be taken entirely away; and the conclusion would be 
equally evident that this taking away of the papal supremacy 
would mark the commencement of the period here called the 
time of the end. If this application is correct, the time of 
the end commenced in 1798; for there, as already noticed, the 
papacy was overthrown by the French, and has never since 
been able to wield the power it before possessed. That the 
oppression of the church by the papacy is what is here referred 
to, is evident, because that is the only one, with the possible 
exception of Eev. 2 : 10, connected with a "time appointed," 
or a prophetic period. 

Verse 36. And the king shall do according to his will ; and he shall 
exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak 
marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the 
indignation be accomplished; for that that is determined shall be done. 

The king here introduced cannot denote the same power 
which was last noticed, namely, the papal power; for the 
specifications will not hold good if applied to that power. 

Take a declaration in the next verse: "Nor regard any 
god." This has never been true of the papacy. God and 
Christ, though often placed in a false position, have never been 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 35, 36. 265 

professedly set aside, and rejected from that system of religion. 
The only difficulty in a-pplying it to a new power lies in the 
definite article the; for, it is m'ged, the expression '^Hhe king" 
would identify this as the one last spoken of. If it could be 
properly translated a king, there would be no difficulty; and it 
is said that some of the best Biblical critics give it this render- 
ing, Mede, Wintle, Boothroyd, and others translating the pas- 
sage, ^'A certain king shall do according to his will," thus 
clearly introducing a new power upon the stage of action. 

Three peculiar features must appear in the power which 
fulfils this prophecy : (1) It must assume the character here 
delineated near the commencement of the time of the end, to 
which we were brought down in the preceding verse; (2) it 
must be a wilful power; (3) it must be an atheistical power; 
or perhaps the two latter specifications might be imited by 
saying that its wilfulness would be manifested in the direction 
of atheism. A revolution exactly answering to this description 
did take place in France at the time indicated in the prophecy. 
Yoltaire had sowed the seeds which bore their legitimate and 
baleful fruit. That boastful infidel, in his pompous but impo- 
tent self-conceit, had said, < ' I am weary of hearing people 
repeat that twelve men established the Christian religion. I 
will prove that one man may suffice to overthrow it. ' ' Asso- 
ciating with himself such men as Rousseau, D'Alembert, 
Diderot, and others, he undertook the work. They sowed to 
the wind, and reaped the whirlwind. Their efforts culminated 
in the revolution of 1793, when the Bible was discarded, and 
the existence of the Deity denied, as the voice of the nation. 

The historian thus describes this great religious change : — 

"It was not enough, they said, for a regenerate nation to 
have dethroned earthly kings, unless she stretched out the arm 
of defiance toward those powers which superstition had repre- 
sented as reigning over boundless space." — Scotfs Napoleon^ 
Vol. I, p. 172. 

Again he says : — 

' ' The constitutional bishop of Paris was brought forward to 
play the principal part in the most impudent and scandalous 



266 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

farce ever enacted in the face of a national representation. . . . 
He was brought forward in full procession, to declare to the 
convention that the religion which he had taught so many years 
was, in every respect, a piece of priestcraft, which had no 
foundation either in history or sacred truth. lie disoicned^ in 
solemn and explicit terms, the existence of the Deity, to 
whose worship he had been consecrated, and devoted himself 
in future to the homage of Liberty, Equality, Yirtue, and Mo- 
rality. He then laid on the table his episcopal decorations, 
and received a fraternal embrace from the president of the 
convention. Several apostate priests followed the example of 
this prelate. , . . The world, for the first time, heard an as- 
sembly of men, born and educated in civilization, and assuming 
the right to govern one of the finest of the European nations 
uplift their %mited voice to deny the most solemn truth which 
man's soul receives, and renounce Uj^ANIMOTJSLY THE 
BELIEF AND WOKSHIP OF DEITY. " — 7^7. , Vol. 7, 
p. 173. 

A writer some years ago in Blachwood'' s Magazine said : — 
< ' France is the only nation in the world concerning which 
the authentic record survives, that as a nation she lifted her 
hand in open rebellion against the Author of the universe. 
Plenty of blasphemers, plenty of infidels, there have been, and 
still continue to be, in England, Germany, Spain, and else- 
where; but France stands apart in the world's history as the 
single state which, by the decree of her legislative assembly, 
pronounced that there was no God, and of which the entire 
population of the capital, and a vast majority elsewhere, women 
as well as men, danced and sang with joy in accepting the 
announcement." 

But there are other and still more striking spefcitications 
which were fulfilled in this power. 

Verse 37. Neither sliall lie ro^^ard the God of his falliors, nor the 
desire of women, nor regard any god: for lie sliall magnify himself 
above all. 

The Hebrew word for 'ironiun is also translated frife; and 
Bishop Newton observes that this passage would be nior« 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 37. 267 

properly rendered "the desire of wives/' This would seem to 
indicate that this government, at the same time it declared that 
God did not exist, would trample under foot the law which 
God had givea to regulate the marriage institution. And 
we find that the historian has, unconsciously perhaps, and if so 
all the more significantly, coupled together the atheism and 
licentiousness of this government in the same order in which 
they are presented in the prophecy. He says : — 

' ' Intimately connected with these laws affecting religion was 
that which reduced the union of marriage — the most sacred 
engagement which human beings can form, and the perma- 
nence of which leads most strongly to the consolidation of 
society — to the state of a mere civil contract of a transitory 
character, which any two persons might engage in and cast loose 
at pleasure, when their taste was changed or their appetite grati- 
fied.* If fiends had set themselves at work to discover a mode 
of most effectually destroying whatever is venerable, graceful, 
or permanent in domestic life, and obtaining at the same time 
an assurance that the mischief which it was their object to cre- 
ate should be perpetuated from one generation to another, they 
could not have invented a more effectual plan than the degra- 
dation of marriage into a state of mere occasional cohabitation 
or licensed concubinage. Sophie Arnoult, an actress famous 
for the witty things she said, described the republican marriage 
as the sacrament of adultery. These antireligious and anti- 
social regulations did not answer the purpose of the frantic and 
inconsiderate zealots by whom they had been urged forward." 
—Scott's Mtpoleon, Vol. /, p. 173. 

"Nor regard any god." In addition to the testimony 
already presented to show the utter atheism of the nation at 
this time, the following fearful language of madness and pre- 
sumption is to be recorded : — 

"The fear of God is so far from being the beginning of 
wisdom that it is the beginning of folly. Modesty is only an 
invention of refined voluptuousness. The Supreme King^ the 
God of the Jews and the Christians, is hii^t a jphantom, Jesus 
Christ is an irajpostor ,''* .. ■ ^ ^ . --.... 



268 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Another writer says : — 

''Aug. 26, 1792, an open profession of atheism was made 
by the National Convention ; and corresponding societies and 
atheistical clubs were everywhere fearlessly held in the French 
nation. Massacres and the reign of terror became the most 
horrid." — SmiWs Key to Bevelation, p. 323. 

"Hebert, Chaumette, and their associates appeared at the 
bar, and declared that God did not exist."— ^i^/6'<9??, Vol. /, 
p. 150, 

At this juncture all religious worship was prohibited, ex- 
cept that of liberty and the country. The gold and silver 
plate of the churches was seized upon and desecrated. The 
churches were closed. The bells were broken and cast into 
cannon. The Bible was publicly burned. The sacramental 
vessels were paraded through the streets on an ass, in token 
of contempt. A week of ten days, instead of seven, was 
established, and death was declared, in conspicuous letters 
posted over their burial places, to be an eternal sleep. But 
the crowning blasphemy, if these orgies of hell admit of de- 
grees, remained to be performed by the comedian Monvel, 
who, as a priest of Illuminism, said : — 

" God, if you exist, avenge your injured name. I bid you 
dsfiancG ! You remain silent. You dare not launch your 
thunders ! Who after this, will believe in your cwUtcnce / 
The whole ecclesiastical establishment was destroyed. " — Scoffs ' 
JVapoleon, Vol. I, p. 173. 

Behold what man is when left to himself, and what infidel- 
ity is when the restraints of law are thrown off, and it has the 
power in its own hands ! Can it be doubted that these scenes 
are what the omniscient One foresaw, and noted on the sacred 
]);-ge, when he pointed out a kingdom to arise which should 
exalt itself above every god, and disregard them all ? 

Veuse 38. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces : and a 
god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and 
with iirecious stones, and pleasant things. 

We meet a seeming contradiction in this verse. How can 
a nation disregard every god, and yet honor the god of forces ? 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 38. 269 

It could not at one and the same time hold both these posi- 
tions; but it might for a time disregard all gods, and then sub- 
sequently introduce another worship, and regard the god of 
forces. Did such a change occur in France at this time ? — It 
did. The attempt to make France a godless nation produced 
such anarchy that the rulers feared the power would pass en- 
tirely out of their hands, and therefore perceived that, as a 
political necessity, some kind of worship must be introduced; 
but they did not intend to introduce any movement which would 
increase devotion, or develop any true spiritual character among 
the people, but only such as would keep themselves in power, 
and give them control of the national forces. A few extracts 
from history will show this. Liberty and country were at first 
the objects of adoration. "Liberty, equality, virtue, and mo- 
rality, "the very opposites of anything they possessed in fact 
or exhibited in practice, were words which they set forth as 
describing the deity of the nation. In 1794 the worship of the 
Goddess of Reason was introduced, and is thus described by 
the historian : — 

' ' One of the ceremonies of this insane time stands unrivaled 
for absurdity combined with impiety. The doors of the con- 
vention were thrown' open to a band of musicians, preceded by 
whom, the members of the municipal body entered in solemn 
procession, singing a hymn in praise of liberty, and escorting, 
as the object of their future worship, a vailed female whom 
they termed the Goddess of Reason. Being brought within 
the bar, she was unvailed with great form, and placed on the 
right hand of the president, when she was generally recognized 
as a dancing girl of the opera, with whose charms most of the 
persons present were acquainted from her appearance on the 
stage, while the experience of individuals was further extended. 
To this person, as the fittest representative of that reason whom 
they worshiped, the National Convention of France rendered 
public homage. This impious and ridiculous mummery had a 
certain fashion; and the installation of the Goddess of Reason 
was renewed and imitated throughout the nation, in such places 
where the inhabitants desired to show themselves equal to all 
the bights of the Revolution." — Scotfs Life of Napoleon, 



270 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

Ill introducing the worship of Reason, in J7t>4, Chaumette 
said : — • 

'' ' Legislative fanaticism has lost its hold; it has given place 
to reason. We have left its temples; they are regenerated. 
To-day an immense multitude are assembled under its Gothic 
roofs, which, for the first time, will re-echo the voice of truth. 
There the French will celebrate their true worship — that of 
Liberty and Reason. There we will form new vows for the 
prosperity of the armies of the Republic; there we will abandon 
the worship of inanimate idols for that of Reason — this ani- 
mated image, the masterpiece of creation.' 

"A vailed female, arrayed in blue drapery, was brought 
into the convention; and Chaumette, taking her by the hand, — 

" 'Mortals,' said he, ' cease to tremble before the powerless 
thunders of a God whom your fears have created. Henceforth 
acknowledge no divinity but Reason. I offer you its noblest 
and purest image; if you must have idols, sacrifice only to such 
as this. . . . Fall before the august Senate of Freedom, Tail 
of Reason.' 

"At the same time the goddess appeared, personified by a 
celebrated beauty, Madame Millard, of the opera, known in 
more than one character to most of tho convention. The god- 
dess, after being embraced by the president, was mounted on 
a magnificent car, and conducted, amidst an immense crowd, to 
the cathedral of Notre Dame, to tah^ the place of the Deity. 
Then she was elevated on the high altar, and received the 
adoration of all present. 

'' On the 11th of November, the popular society of the 
museum entered the hall of the municipality, exclaiming : 
* Vive la Raison ! ' and carrying on the top of a pole the half- 
burned remains of several books, among others the breviaries 
and the Old and New Testaments, which ' expiated in a great 
fire,' said the president, 'all the fooleries which they have made 
the human race commit.' 

''The most sacred relations of life were at the same period 
placed on a new footing suited to the extravagant ideas of the 
times. Marriage was declared a civil contract, binding only 



CHAPTER 11, TERSE 39. 271 

during the pleasure of the contracting parties. Mademoiselle 
Arnoult, a celebrated comedian, expressed the public feeling 
when she called ' marriage the sacrament of adultery.' " — Id. 

Truly, this was a strange god, whom the fathers of that 
generation knew not. No such deity had ever before been set 
up as an object of adoration. And well might it be called the 
god of forces; for the object of the movement was to cause 
the people to renew their covenant and repeat their vows for 
the prosperity of the armies of France. Read again a few 
lines from the extract already given : — • 

"We have left its temples; they are regenerated. To-day an 
immense multitude is assembled under its Gothic roofs, which 
for the first time, will re-echo the voice of truth. There the 
French will celebrate their true worship, — that of Liberty and 
Reason. There we will/br?/?/ nevj vows for the prosjperity of 
the armies of the Republic. " ^ 

Verse 39. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange 
god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glor}^ : and he shall 
cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. 

The system of paganism which had been introduced into 
France, as exemplified in the worship of the idol set up in the 
person of the Goddess of Reason, and regulated by a heathen 
ritual which had been enacted by the National Assembly for 
the use of the French people, continued in force till the 
appointment of ISTapoleon to the provisional consulate of 
France in 1799. The adherents of this strange religion occu- 
pied the fortified places, the strongholds of the nation, as 
expressed in this verse. 



* During the time while the fantastic worship of reason was the national craze, 
the leaders of the revolution are known to history as "the atheists." But it was 
soon perceived, that a religion with more powerful sanctions than the one then in 
vogue must be instituted, to hold the people. A form of worship therefore fol- 
lowed in which the object of adoration was the " Supreme Being." It was equally- 
hollow so far as any reformation of life and vital godliness were concerned, but it 
took hold upon the supernatural. And while the goddess of Reason was indeed a 
"strange god," the statement in regard to honoring the " God of forces," may per- 
haps more appropriately be referred to this latter phase. See Thiers's French 
Eevolution. 



272 PllOPHECY OF DANIEL. 

But that which serves to identify the application of this 
prophecy to France, perhaps as clearly as any other particular, 
is the statement made in the last clause of the verse; namely, 
that they should "divide the land for gain." Previous to the 
Revolution, the landed property of France was owned by a few 
landlords in immense estates. These estates were required by 
the law to remain undivided, so that no heirs or creditors 
could partition them. But revolution knows no law; and in 
the anarchy that now reigned, as noted also in the eleventh of 
Revelation, the titles of the nobility were abolished, and their 
lands disposed of in small parcels for the benefit of the public 
exchequer. The government was in need of funds, and these 
large landed estates were confiscated, and sold at auction in 
parcels to suit purchasers. The historian thus records this 
unique transaction : — 

"The confiscation of two thirds of the landed property of 
the kingdom, which arose from the decrees of the convention 
against the emigrants, clergy, and persons convicted at the 
Revolutionary Tribunals, . . . placed funds worth above 
£700,000,000 sterling at the disposal of the government." — 
Alison, Vol. IV, jp. 151. 

When did ever an event transpire, and in what country, 
fulfilling a prophecy more completely than this? As the nation 
began to come to itself, a more rational religion was demanded, 
and the heathen ritual was abolished. The historian thus de- 
scribes that event: — 

"A third and bolder measure w^as the discarding of the 
heathen ritual, and reopening the churches for Christian wor- 
ship; and of this the credit was wholly Napoleon's, who had to 
contend with the philosophic prejudices of almost all his col- 
leagues, lie, in his conversation with them, made no attempts 
to represent himself a believer in Christianity, but stood only 
on the necessity of providing the people with the regular means 
of worship wherever it is meant to have a state of traiupiillity. 
The priests who chose to take the oath of fidelity to the govern- 
ment were readmitted to their functions; and this wise meas- 
are was followed bv the adherence of not less than 20.000 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 40. 273 

of these ministers of religion, who had hitherto languished 
in the prisons of France." — Lockharfs Life of Napoleon^ 
Vol. I, p. 16 J,.. 

Thus terminated the Reign of Terror and the Infidel Revo- 
lution. Out of its ruins rose Bonaparte, to guide the tumult 
to his own elevation, place himself at the head of the French 
government, and strike terror to the hearts of nations. 

Verse 40. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south 
push at him ■ and the king of the north shall come against him like a 
whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships : and 
he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 

After a long interval, the king of the south and the king 
of the north again appear on the stage of action. We have 
met with nothing to indicate that we are to look to any local- 
ities for these powers other than those which shortly after the 
death of Alexander, constituted respectively the soutliern and 
northern divisions of his em_pire. The king of the south 
was at that time Egypt, and the king of the north was Syria, 
including Thrace and Asia Minor. Egypt is still, by common 
agreement, the king of the south, while the territory which at 
first constituted the king of the north, has been for the past 
four hundred years wholly included within the dominions of 
the sultan of Turkey. To Egypt and Turkey, then, in connec- 
tion with the power last under consideration, we must look for 
a fulfilment of the verse before us. 

This application of the prophecy calls for a conflict to spring 
up between Egypt and France, and Turkey and France, in 
1798, which year, as we have seen, marked the beginning of 
the time of the end ; and if history testifies that such a triangu- 
lar war did break out in that year, it will be conclusive proof of 
the correctness of the application. 

We inquire, therefore. Is it a fact that at the time of the 
end, Egypt did "push," or make a comparatively feeble resist- 
ance, while Turkey did come like a resistless ' ' whirlwind, ' ' 
against "him," that is, the government of France? Wo have 
already produced some evidence that the time of the end com- 



274 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

menced in 1798; and no reader of history need be informed 
that in that very year a state of open hostility between France 
and Egypt was inaugurated. 

To what extent this conflict owed its origin to the dreams 
of glory deliriously cherished in the ambitious brain of Kapo- 
leon Bonaparte, the historian will form his own opinion; but 
the French, or Bonaparte at least, contrived to make Egypt the 
aggressor. Thus, when in the invasion of that country he had 
secured his first foothold in Alexandria, he declared that *'he 
had not come to ravage the country or to WTest it from the 
Grand Seignior, but merely to deliver it from the domination 
of the Mamelukes, and to revenge the oidrages which they had 
committed against France.^'' — Thiers'^ s French Revolution^ Vol. 

IV, p. ms. 

Again the historian says : ' ' Besides, he [ Bonaparte ] hud 
strong reasons to urge against them [the Mamelukes] ; for 
they had never ceased to ill-treat the French." — Id., p. 27-L 

The beginning of the year 1798 found France indulging in 
immense projects against the English. The Directory desired 
Bonaparte to undertake at once a descent upon England; but 
he saw that no direct operations of that kind could be judi- 
ciously undertaken before the fall, and he was unwilling to 
hazard his growing reputation by spending the summer in idle- 
ness. "But," says the historian, "he saw a far-off land, 
where a glory was to be won which w^ould gain a new charm 
in the eyes of his countrymen by the romance aud mystery 
which hung upon the scene. Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs 
and the Ptolemies, would be a noble field for new triumphs." 
— White'^s History of France, p. Jf69. 

But while still broader visions of glory opened before the 
eyes of Bonaparte in those Eastern historic lands, covering not 
Egypt only, but Syria, Persia, Hindustan, even to the Ganges 
itself, he had no difficulty in persuading the Directory that 
Egypt was the vulnerable point through which to strike at 
England by intercepting her Eastern trade. Hence, on the 
pretext above mentioned, the Egyptian campaign was under- 
taken. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 40. 275 

The downfall of the papacy, which marked the termination 
of the 1260 years, and, according to verse 35, showed the 
commencement of the time of the end, occurred on the 10th 
of February, 1798, when Rome fell into the hands of Berthier, 
the general of the French. On the 5th of March following, 
Bonaparte received the decree of the Directory relative to the 
expedition against Egypt. He left Paris May 3, and set sail 
from Toulon the 19th, with a large naval armament, consisting 
of 500 sail, carrying 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors. July 
5, Alexandria was taken, and immediately fortified. On the 
23d the decisive battle of the pyramids was fought, in which 
the Mamelukes contested the field with valor and desperation, 
but were no match for the disciplined legions of the French. 
Murad Bey lost all his cannon, 400 camels, and 3000 men. 
The loss of the French was comparatively slight. On the 
21th, Bonaparte entered Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and only 
waited the subsidence of the floods of the Kile to pursue Murad 
Bey to Upper Egypt, whither he had retired with his shattered 
cavalry, and so make a conquest of the whole country. Thus 
the king of the south was able to make but a feeble resistance. 

At this juncture, however, the situation of Xapoleon began 
to grow precarious. The French fleet, which was his only 
channel of communication with France, was destroyed by the 
English under I^elson at Aboukir; and on September 2 of this 
same year, 1798, the sultan of Turkey, under feelings of jeal- 
ousy against France, artfully fostered by the English embassa- 
dors at Constantinople, and exasperated that Egypt, so long a 
semi-dependency of the Ottoman empire, should be transformed 
into a French province, declared war against France. Thus 
the king of the north (Turkey) came against him (France) in 
the same year that the king of the south (Egypt) ''pushed,'- 
and both "at the time of the end;" which is another conclu- 
sive proof that the year 1798 is the year which begins that 
period; and all of which is a demonstration that this applica- 
tion of the prophecy is correct ; for so many events meeting so 
accurately the specifications of the prophecy could not take 
place together, and not be a fulfilment of the prophecy. 
21 



276 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Was the coming of the king of the north, or Turkey, like 
the whirlwind in comparison with the pushing of Egypt ? Ka- 
poleon had crushed the armies of Egypt; he essayed to do the 
same thing with the armies of the sultan, who were menacing 
an attack from the side of Asia. Feb. 27, 1799, with ls,nOO 
men, he commenced his march from Cairo to Syria. He first 
took the fort of El-Arish, in the desert, then Jaffa (the Joppa 
of the Bible), conquered the inhabitants of Naplous at Zeta, 
and was again victorious at Jafet. Meanwhile, a strong body 
of Turks had intrenched themselves at St. Jean d'Acre, while 
swarms of Mussulmans gathered in the mountains of Samaria, 
ready to swoop down upon the French when they should be- 
siege Acre. Sir Sidney Smith at the same time appeared be- 
fore St. Jean d'Acre with two English ships, reinforced the 
Tui-kish garrison of that place, and captured the apparatus for 
the siege, which Napoleon had sent across by sea from Alexan- 
dria. A Turkish fleet soon appeared in the offing, which, with 
the Russian and English vessels then co-operating with them, 
constituted the ' ' many ships ' ' of the king of the north. 

On the 18th of March the siege commenced. Napoleon 
was twice called away to save some French divisions from 
falling into the hands of the Mussulman hordes that tilled the 
country. Twice also a breach was made in the wall of the 
city; but the assailants were met with such fury by the gar- 
rison, that they were obliged, despite their best efforts, to give 
over the straggle. After a continuance of sixty days. Napo- 
leon raised the siege, sounded, for the first time in his career, 
the note of retreat, and on the 21st of May, 1799, commenced 
to retrace his steps to Egypt. 

"And he shall overflow and pass over." We have found 
events which furnish a very striking fulfilment of the pushing 
of the king of the south, and the whirlwind onset of the King 
of the north against the French power. Thus far there is 
quite a general agreement in the application of the prophecy. 
We now reach a point where the views of expositors begin to 
diverge. To whom do the words, he "shall overflow and pass 
over," refer? — to France or to the king of the north? The 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 40. 277 

application of the remainder of this chapter depends upon the 
answer to this question. From this point two lines of inter- 
pretation are maintained. Some apply the words to France, 
and endeavor to find a fulfilment in the career of JS'apoleon. 
Others apply them to the king of the north, and accordingly 
point for a fulfilment to events in the history of Turkey. We 
speak of these two positions only, as the attempt which some 
make to bring in the papacy here is so evidently wide of the 
mark that its consideration need not detain us. If neither of 
these positions is free from difiiculty, as we presume no one 
will claim that it is, absolutely, it only remains that we take 
that one which has the weight of evidence in its favor. And 
we shall find one in favor of which the evidence does so greatly 
preponderate, to the exclusion of all others, as scarcely to leave 
any room for doubt in regard to the view here mentioned. 

Bespecting the application of this portion of the prophecy 
to Napoleon or to France under his leadership, so far as we 
are acquainted with his history, we do not find events which we 
can urge with any degree of assurance as the fulfilment of 
the remaining portion of this chapter, and hence do not see 
how *it can be thus applied. It must, then, be fulfilled by 
Turkey, unless it can be shown (1) that the expression "king 
of the north " does not apply to Turkey, or (2) that there is 
some other power besides either France or the king of the 
north which fulfilled this part of the prediction. But if Tur- 
key, now occupying the territory which constituted the north- 
ern division of Alexander' s empire, is not the king of the north 
of this prophecy, then we are left without any principle to 
guide us in the interpretation ; and we presume all will agree 
that there is no room for the introduction of any other power 
here. The French king, and the king of the north, are the 
only ones to whom the prediction can apply. The fulfilment 
must lie between them. 

Some considerations certainly favor the idea that there is, 
in the latter part of verse 40, a transfer of the burden of the 
prophecy from the French power to the king of the north. 
The king of the north is introduced just before, as coming 



278 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

forth like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and many 
ships. The collision between this power and the French we 
have already noticed. The king of the north, with the aid of 
his allies, gained the day in this contest ; and the French, 
foiled in their efforts, were driven back into Egypt. ]Now 
it would seem to be the more natural application to refer the 
^^ overflowing and passing over " to that power which emerged 
in triumph from that struggle ; and that power was Turkey. 
We will only add that one who is familiar with the Hebrew 
assures us that the construction of this passage is such as to 
make it necessary to refer the overflowing and passing over 
to the king of the north, these words expressing the result of 
that movement which is just before likened to the fury of the 
whirlwind. 

Verse 41. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many 
countries shall be overthrown : but these shall escape out of his hand, 
even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 

The facts just stated relative to the campaign of the French 
against Turkey, and the repulse of the former at St. Jean 
d'Acre, were drawn chiefly from the Encyclopedia Americana. 
From the same source we gather further particulars respecting 
the retreat of the French into Egypt, and the additional re- 
verses which compelled them to evacuate that country. 

Abandoning a campaign in which one third of the army 
had fallen victims to war and the plague, the French retired 
from St. Jean d'Acre, and after a fatiguing march of twenty- 
six days re-entered Cairo in Egypt. They thus abandoned all 
the conquests they had made in Judea; and the '* glorious 
land, " Palestine, with all its provinces, here called ' ' countries, " 
fell back again under the oppressive rule of the Turk. Edom, 
Moab, and Ammon, lying outside the limits of Palestine, south 
and east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan, were out of the line 
of march of tlie Turks from Syria to Egypt, and so escaped the 
ravages of that campaign. On this passage Adam Clarke has 
the following note: *' These and other Arabians, they [the 
Turks] have never been able to subdue. They still occupy the 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 41, 42 279 

deserts, and receive a yearly pension oi forty thousand crowns 
of gold from the Ottoman emperors to permit the caravans 
with the pilgrims for Mecca to have a free passage." 

Verse 42. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries : 
and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 

On the retreat of the French to Egypt, a Turkish fleet landed 
18,000 men at Aboukir. 'iNapoleon immediately attacked the 
place, completely routing the Turks, and re-establishing his 
authority in Egypt. But at this point, severe reverses to the 
French arms in Europe called Napoleon home to look after 
the interests of his own country. The command of the troops 
in Egypt was left with General Kleber, who, after a period of 
untiring activity for the benefit of the army, was murdered by 
a Turk in Cairo, and the command was left with Abdallah 
Menou. With an army which could not be recruited, every 
loss was serious. 

Meantime, the English government, as the ally of the 
Turks, had resolved to wrest Egypt from the French. 
March 13, 1800, an English fleet disembarked a body of 
troops at Aboukir. The French gave battle the next day, 
but were forced to retire. On the 18th Aboukir surrendered. 
On the 28th reinforcements were brought by a Turkish fleet, 
and the grand vizier approached from Syria with a large 
army. The 19th, Rosetta surrendered to the combined forces 
of the English and Turks. At Ramanieh a French corps of 
4000 men was defeated by 8000 English and 6000 Turks. 
At Elmenayer 5000 French were obliged to retreat, May 16, 
by the vizier, who was pressing forward to Cairo with 20,000 
men. The whole French army was now shut up in Cairo and 
Alexandria. Cairo capitulated June 27, and Alexandria, 
September 2. Four weeks after, Oct. 1, 1801, the prelimi- 
naries of peace were signed at London. 

''Egypt shall not escape " were the words of the prophecy. 
This language seems to imply that Egypt would be brought 
into subjection to some power from whose dominion it would 
desire to be released. As between the French and Turks, how 



280 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

did this question stand with the Egyptians? — They preferred 
French rule. In K. R. Madden' s Travels in Kgy pt, jSubia, 
Turkey, and Palestine in the years 1824-1827, published in 
London in 1829, it is stated that the French were much 
regretted by the Egyptians, and extolled as benefactors; that 
"for the short period they remained, they left traces of 
amelioration;" and that, if they could have established their 
pov^er, Egypt would now be compai-atively civilized. In view 
of this testimony, the language would not be appropriate if 
applied to the French; the Egyptians did not desire to escape 
out of their hands. They did desire to escape from the hands 
of the Turks, but could not. 

Vebse 43. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and 
of silver, and over all the precious things of Egj'pt: and the Libyans and 
the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 

^-^ In illustration of this verse we quote the following from 
Historic Echoes of the Yoice of God, p. 41) : — • 

' ' History gives the following facts : When the French were 
driven out of Egypt, and the Turks took possession, the sultan 
permitted the Egyptians to reorganize their government as it 
was before the French invasion. He asked of the Egyptians 
neither soldiers, guns, nor fortifications, but left them to 
manage their own affairs independently, with the important 
exception of putting the nation under tribute to himself. In 
the articles of agreement between the sultan and the pasha of 
Egypt, it was stipulated that the Egyptians should pay annu- 
ally to the Turkish government a certain amount of gold and 
silver, and ' six hundred thousand measures of corn, and four 
hundred thousand of barley.' " 

''The Libyans and the Ethiopians," "the (7W^/yy?," says 
Dr. Clarke, "the unconquered Arabs," who have sought the 
friendship of the Turks, and many of whom are tributary to 
them to the present time. 

Verse 44. But tidings out of the east and out of the north sliall 
troul)K> him : tliereforc he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and 
utterly to make away many. 



CHAPTER 11, VERSES 48-45. 281 

On this verse Dr. Clarke has a note which is worthy of men- 
tion. He says: ''This part of the prophecy is allowed to be 
yet unfulfilled. " His note was printed in 1825. In another 
portion of his comment, he says: "If the Tm*kish power be 
understood, as in the preceding verses, it may mean that the 
Persians on the east^ and the Russians on the north^ will at 
some time greatly embarrass the Ottoman government." 

Between this conjecture of Dr. Clarke's, written in 1825, 
and the Crimean war of 1853-1856, there is certainly a 
striking coincidence, inasmuch as the very powers he men- 
tions, the Persians on the east and the Russians on the north, 
were the ones which instigated that conflict. Tidings from 
these poweis troubled him (Turkey). Their attitude and 
movements incited the sultan to anger and revenge. Russia, 
being the more aggressive party, was the object of attack. 
Turkey declared war on her powerful northern neighbor in 
1853. The world looked on in amazement to see a govern- 
ment which had long been called "the Sick Man of the East," 
a government whose army was dispirited and demoralized, 
whose treasuries were empty, whose rulers were vile and imbe- 
cile, and whose subjects were rebellious and threatening seces- 
sion, rush with such impetuosity into the conflict. The prophecy 
said that they should go forth with ' ' great fury ; ' ' and when 
they thus went forth in the war aforesaid, they were described, 
in the profane vernacular of an American writer, as "fighting 
like devils." England and France, it is true, soon came to the 
help of Turkey; but she went forth in the manner described, 
and as is reported, gained important victories before receiving 
the assistance of these powers. 

Veese 45. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between 
the seas in the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall come to his end, and 
none shall help him. 

We have now traced the prophecy of the 11th of Daniel 
down, step by step, and have thus far found events to fulfil 
all its predictions. It has all been wrought out into history 
except this last verse. The predictions of the preceding verse 



282 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

liiiviag been fulfilled within the memory of the generation now 
living, we are carried by this one past om- own day into the 
future; for no power has yet performed the acts here described . 
But it is to be fulfilled ; and its fulfilment must be accom- 
plished by that power which has been continuously the subject 
of the prophecy fi'om the 40th verse down to this 4.jth verse. 
If the application to which we have given the preference in 
passing over these verses, is correct, we must look to Turkey 
to make the move here indicated. 

And let it be noted how readily this could be done. Pales- 
tine, which contains the ''glorious holy mountain," the moun- 
tain on which Jerusalem stands, "between the seas," the Dead 
Sea and the Mediterranean, is a Turkish province; and if the 
Turk should be obliged to retire hastily from Europe, he could 
easily go to any point within his own dominions to establish 
his temporary headquarters, here appropriately described as the 
tabernacles, movable dwellings, of his palace; but he could not 
go beyond them. The most notable point within the limit of 
Turkey in Asia, is Jerusalem. 

And mark, also, how applicable the language to that 
power : " He shall come to his end, and none shall help him." 
This expression plainly implies that this power has previously 
received help. And what are the facts ? — In the war against 
France in 1798-1801, England and Russia assisted the sultan. 
In the war between Turkey and Egypt in 1838-1810, England, 
Russia, Austria, and Prussia intervened in behalf of Turkey. 
In the Crimean war in 1853-1856, England, France, and 
Sardinia supported the Turks. And in the late Russo-Turkish 
war, the great powers of Europe interfered to arrest the prog- 
ress of Russia. And without the help received in all these 
instances, Turkey would probably have failed to maintain her 
position. And it is a notorious fact that since the fall of the 
Ottoman supremacy in 1810, the empire has existed only 
through the sufferance of the great powers of Europe. With- 
out their pledged support, she would not be long able to main- 
tain even a nominal existence; and when that is withdrawn, 
she must come to the ground. So the prophecy says the kmg 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 283 

comes to his end and none help him; and lie comes to his end, 
as we may naturally infer hecaicse none help him, — because 
the support previously rendered is withdrawn. 

Have we any indications that this part of the prophecy is 
soon to be fulfilled ? As we raise this inquiry, we look, not to 
dim and distant ages in the past, whose events, so long ago 
transferred to the page of history, now interest only the few, 
but to the present living, moving world. Are the nations 
which are now on the stage of action, with their disciplined 
armies and their multiplied weapons of war, making any move- 
ment looking to this end ? 

All eyes are now turned with interest toward Turkey; and 
the unanimous opinion of statesmen is, that the Turk is des- 
tined soon to be driven from Europe. Some years since, a 
correspondent of the New York Tribune^ writing from the East, 
said : ^ ' Russia is arming to the teeth ... to be avenged on 
Turkey . . . Two campaigns of the Russian army will drive 
the T'urhs out of Europe. ' ' Oarleton, formerly a correspondent 
of the Boston Journal^ writing from Paris under the head of 
'^The Eastern Question," said: — 

'^ The theme of conversation during the last week has not 
been concerning the Exposition, but the ' Eastern Question. ' 
To what will it grow? Will there be war? What is Russia 
going to do ? What position are the Western powers going to 
take ? These are questions discussed not only in the cafes and 
restaurants, but in the Corjjs Legislcttif Perhaps I cannot ren- 
der better service at the present time than to group together 
some facts in regard to this question, which, according to pres- 
ent indications, are to engage the immediate attention of the 
world. What is the ' Eastern Question ' ? It is not easy to 
give a definition; for to Russia it may mean one thing, to 
France another, and to Austria still another; but sifted of 
every side issue, it may be reduced to this, — the driving of 
THE Turk into Asia, and a scramble for his territory." 

Again he says : — 

' ' Surely the indications are that the sultan is destined soon 
to see the western border of his dominions break off, piece by 



284 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

piece. But what will follow ? Are Roumania, Servia, Bosnia, 
and Albania to set up as an independent sovereignty together, 
and take position among the nations ? or is there to be a grand 
rush for the estate of the Ottoman ? But that is of the future, 
a future not far distant. " 

Shortly after the foregoing extracts were written, an aston- 
ishing revolution took place in Europe. France, one of the 
parties, if not the chief one, in the alliance to uphold the Otto- 
man throne, was crushed by Prussia in the Franco- Prussian 
war of 1870. Prussia, another party, was too much in sym- 
pathy with Russia to interfere with her movements against the 
Turk. England, a third, in an embarrassed condition financially 
could not think of entering into any contest in behalf of Turkey 
without the alliance of France. Austria had not recovered 
from the blow she received in her preceding war with Prussia; 
and Italy was busy with the matter of stripping the pope of his 
temporal power, and making Rome the capital of the nation. 
A writer in the New York Tribune remarked that if Turkey 
should become involved in difiiculty with Russia, she could 
count on the prompt *' assistance of Austria, France, 'and 
England." But none of these powers, nor any others who 
would be likely to assist Turkey, were at the time referred to 
in any condition to do so, owing principally to the sudden and 
unexpected humiliation of the French nation, as stated above. 

Russia then saw that her opportunity had come. She ac- 
cordingly startled all the powers of Europe in the fall of the 
same memorable year, 1870, by stepping forth and deliberately 
announcing that she designed to regard no longer the stipula- 
tions of the treaty of 1856. This treaty, concluded at the 
termination of the Crimean war, restricted the warlike opera- 
tions of Russia in the Black Sea. But Russia must have the 
privilege of using those waters for military purposes, if she 
would carry out her designs against Turkey; hence her deter- 
mination to disregard that treaty just at the time when none of 
the powers were in a condition to enforce it. 

The ostensible reason urged by Russia for her movements 
in this direction, was, that she might have a sea front and har- 
bors in a warmer climate than the shores of the Baltic; but 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 285 

the real design was against Turkey. Thus the Churchman, of 
Hartford, Conn., in an able article on the present "European 
Medley," states that Russia in her encroachments upon Turkey, 
' ' is not merely seeking a sea frontier, and harbors lying on 
the great highways of commerce, unclosed by arctic winters, but 
that, with a feeling akin to that which inspired the Crusades, 
she is actuated by an intense desire to drive the Crescent froim 
the soil of Eiiro])e. ' ' 

This desire on the part of Russia has been cherished as a 
sacred legacy since the days of Peter the Great. That famous 
prince, becoming sole emperor of Russia in 1688, at the age of 
sixteen, enjoyed a prosperous reign of thirty-seven years, to 
1725, and left to his successors a celebrated ''last will and 
testament," imparting certain important instructions for their 
constant observance. The 9th article of that ''will" enjoined 
the following policy : ■ — ■ 

' ' To take every possible means of gaining Constantinople 
and the Indies (for he who rules there will be the true sover- 
eign of the world); excite war continually in Turkey and 
Persia; establish fortresses in the Black Sea; get control of 
the sea by degrees, and also of the Baltic, which is a double 
point, necessary to the realization of our project; accelerate as 
much as possible the decay of Persia; penetrate to the Persian 
Gulf; re-establish, if possible, by the way of Syria, the ancient 
commerce of the Levant; advance to the Indies, which are the 
great depot of the world. Once there, we can do without the 
gold of England." 

The eleventh article reads : ' ' Interest the House of Austria 
in the expulsion of the Turks from Europe, and quiet their 
dissensions at the moment of the conquest of Constantinople 
(having excited war among the old states of Europe), by giving 
to Austria a portion of the conquest, which afterward will or 
can be reclaimed." 

The following facts in Russian history will show how per- 
sistently this line of policy has been followed : — 

"In 1696, Peter the Great wrested the Sea of Azov from 
the Turks, and kept it. Next, Catharine the Great won the 
Crimea. In 1812, by the peace of Bucharest, Alexander I 



286 PROPHECY OF DANIEL 

obtained Moldavia, and the prettily-named province of Bess- 
arabia, with its apples, peaches, and cherri<:*s. Then came the 
great Nicholas, who won the right of the free navigation of the 
Black Sea, the Dardanelles, and tlie J3anube, but whose inor- 
dinate greed led him into the Crimean Avar, by which ho lost 
Moldavia, and the right of navigating the Damibe, and the 
unrestricted navigation of the Black Sea. This was no doubt a 
severe repulse to Russia, but it did not extinguish the designs 
upon the Ottoman power, nor did it contribute in any essential 
degree to the stability of the Ottoman empire. Patiently bi- 
ding her time, Russia has been watching and waiting, and in 
1870, when all the Western nations were watching the Franco- 
Prussian war, she announced to the powers that she would be 
no longer bound by the treaty of 1856, which restricted her use 
of the Black Sea; and since that time that sea has been, as it 
was one thousand years ago, to all intents and purposes, a 
mare Hussic un ? . " — 8a n Fra nc Ihco Ch ran icle. 

Napoleon Bonaparte well understood the designs of Russia, 
and the importance of her contemplated movements. While a 
prisoner on the island of St. Helena, in conversation with his 
governor. Sir Hudson Lowe, he gave utterance to the following 
opinion : — 

< ' In the course of a few years, Russia will have ( 'onstanti- 
nople, part of Turkey, and all of Greece. This I hold to be as 
certain as if it had already taken place.. All the cajolery and 
flattery that Alexander practiced upon me was to gain my con- 
sent to eifect that object. I would not give it, foresi'eing that 
the equilibrium of Europe would be destroyed. Once mistress 
of Constantinople, Russia gets all the commerce of the Medi- 
terranean, becomes a naval power, and then God knows what 
may happen. The object of my invasion of Russia was to pre- 
vent this, by the interposition between her and Turkey of a 
new state, which I meant to call into existence as a barrier to 
her Eastern encroachments.-' 

Kossuth, also, took the same view of the political board, 
when he said: '^In Turkey will be decided the fate of the 
world." 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 287 

The words of Bonaparte, quoted above, in reference to the 
destruction of ' ' the equilibrium of Europe, ' ' reveal the motive 
which has induced the great powers to tolerate so long the ex- 
istence on the Continent of a nation which is false in religion, 
destitute of humanity, and a disgrace to modern civilization. 
Constantinople is regarded, by general consent, as the grand 
strategic point of Europe; and the powers have each sagacity or 
jealousy enough to see, or think they see, the fact that if any 
one of the European powers gains permanent possession of that 
point, as Russia desires to do, that power will be able to dictate 
terms to the rest of Europe. This position no one of the powers 
is willing that any other power should possess; and the only 
apparent way to prevent it is for them all to combine, by tacit 
or express agreement, to keep each other out, and suffer the 
unspeakable Turk to drag along his sickly Asiatic existence on 
the soil of Europe. This is preserving that ' ' balance of power ' ' 
over which they are all so sensitive. But this cannot always 
continue. ' ' He shall come to his end and none shall help him. ' ' 
The sick man seems determined to reduce himself most speedily 
to such a degree of ofl'ensiveness that Europe will be obliged 
to drive him into Asia, as a matter of safety to its own civ- 
ilization. 

When Russia, in 1870, announced her intention to disregard 
the treaty of 1856, the other powers, though incapable of doing 
anything, nevertheless, as was becoming their ideas of their own 
importance, made quite a show of offended dignity. A con- 
gress of nations was demanded, and the demand was granted. 
The congress was held, and proved, as everybody expected it 
would prove, simply a farce so far as restraining Russia was 
concerned. The San Francisco Chronicle of March, 1871, had 
this paragraph touching ' ' The Eastern-Question Congress : ' ' — 

"It is quite evident that, as far as directing or controlling 
the action of the Muscovite government is concerned, the con- 
gress is little better than a farce. England originated the idea 
of the congress, simply because it afforded her an opportunity 
of abandoning, without actual dishonor, a position she had 
assumed rather too hastily, and Russia was complacent enough 



288 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

to join in the ' little game, ' feeling satisfied that she would lose 
nothing by her courtesy. Turkey is the only aggrieved party 
in this dextrous arrangement. She is left face to face with lier 
hereditary and implacable enemy; for the nations that previ- 
ously assisted her, ostensibly through friendship and love of 
justice, but really through motives of self-interest, have evaded 
the challenge so openly flung into the arena by the Northern 
Colossus. It is easy to foresee the end of this conference. 
Kussia will get all she requires, another step will be taken to- 
ward the realization of Peter the Great's will, and the sultan 
will receive a foretaste of his apparently inevitable doom — 
expulsion from Eurojjey 

From that point the smoldering fires of the ' ' Eastern Ques- 
tion " continued to agitate and alarm the nations of Europe, till 
in 1877 the flames burst forth anew. On the 24th of April in 
that year, Russia declared war against Turkey, ostensibly to de- 
fend the Christians against the inhuman barbarity of the Turks, 
really to make another trial to carry out her long-cherished 
determination to drive the Turk from Europe. The events 
and the results of that war of 1877-1878, are of such recent 
date that the general reader can easily recall them. It was 
evident from the first that Turkey was overmatched. Russia 
pushed her approaches till the very outposts of Constantinople 
were occupied by her forces. But diplomacy on the part of 
the alarmed nations of Europe again stepped in to suspend for 
awhile the contest. The Berlin Congress was held Jan. 25, 
1878. Turkey agreed to sign conditions of peace. The condi- 
tions were that the straits of the Dardanelles should be open to 
Russian ships; that' Russians should occupy Batoum, Kars, 
and Erzeroum ; that Turkey should pay Russia £20,000,000 
sterling (nearly $100,000,000), as a war indemnity; and that 
the treaty should be signed at Constantinople. In making this 
announcement, the Allgetneine Zeitung added : '<The eventual 
entry of the Russians into Constantinople cannot longer be 
regarded as impracticable." 

The Detroit Evening News of Feb 20, 1878, said : — 
"According to the latest version of the ])ea('o conditions, 
Turkey — besides her territorial losses, the surrender of a few 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 2S9 

ironclads, the repairs of the mouth of the Danube, the reim- 
bursement of Kussian capital invested in Turkish securities, i h j 
indemnity to Russian subjects in Constantinople for war losses, 
and the maintenance of about 100,000 prisoners of war — will 
have to pay to Russia, in round figures, a sum equivalent to 
about $552,000,000 in our money. The unestimated items 
will easily increase this to six hundred million. With her tax- 
able territory reduced almost to poverty-stricken Asia Minor, 
and with her finances at present in a condition of absolut3 
chaos, it is difficult to see where she is going to get the money, 
however ready her present rulers may be to sign the contract. 

' ' The proposition amounts to giving the czar a permanent 
mortgage on the whole empire, and contains an implied threat 
that he may foreclose at any time, by the seizure of the remain- 
der of European Turkey. In this last aspect, all Europe has a 
vital interest in the matter, and particularly England, even if 
the conditions were not in themselves calculated to drive Eng- 
lish creditors crazy, by destroying their last hope of ever get- 
ting a cent of their large investments in Turkish bonds, s It 
makes Russia a preferred creditor of the bankrupt Porte, with 
the additional advantage of being assignee in possession, leaving 
creditors with prior claims out in the cold." 

The following paragraph taken from the Philadelphia Puh- 
lic Ledger^ August, 1878, sets forth an instructive and very 
suggestive exhibit of the shrinkage of Turkish territory within 
the past sixty years, and especially as the result of the war 
of 1877: — 

' ' Any one who will take the trouble to look at a map of 
Turkey in Europe dating back about sixty years, and compare 
that with the new map sketched by the treaty of San Stefano 
as modified by the Berlin Congress, will be able to form a judg- 
ment of the march of progress that is pressing the Ottoman power 
out of Europe. Then, the northern boundary of Turkey ex- 
tended to the Carpathian Mountains, and eastward of the River 
Sereth it embraced Moldavia as far north nearly as the 47th 
degree of north latitude. That map embraced also what is now 
the kingdom of Greece. It covered all of Servia and Bosnia. 
But by the year 1830 the northern frontier of Turkey was 



290 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

driven back from tlie Carpathians to the south bank of the 
Danube, the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia being 
emancipated from Turkish domination, and subject only to the 
payment of an annual tribute in money to the Porte. South of 
the Danube, the Servians had won a similar emancipation for 
their country. Greece also had been enabled to establish her 
independence. Then, as recently, the Turk was truculent and 
obstinate. Russia and Great Britain proposed to make Greece 
a tributary state, retaining the sovereignty of the Porte. This 
was refused, and the result was the utter destruction of the 
powerful Turkish fleet at Navarino, and the erection of the in- 
dependent kingdom of Greece. Thus Turkey in Europe was 
pressed back on all sides. Now, the northern boundary, which 
was so recently at the Danube, has been driven south to the 
Balkans. Roumania and Servia have ceased even to be tribu- 
tary, and have taken their place among independent states. 
Bosnia has gone under the protection of Austria, as Roumania 
did under that of Russia in 1829. < Rectified ' boundaries give 
Turkish territory to Servia, Montenegro, and Greece. Bulgaria 
takes the place of Roumania as a self-governing principality, 
having no dependence on the Porte, and paying only an annual 
tribute. Even south of the Balkans the power of the Turk is 
crippled, for Roumelia is to have ' home rule ' under a Christian 
governor. And so again the frontier of Turkey in Europe is 
pressed back on all sides, until the territory left is but the 
shadow of what it was sixty years ago. To produce this re- 
sult has been the policy and the battle of Russia for more than 
half a century; for nearly that space of time it has been the 
struggle of some of the other ^powers ' to maintain the 'integ- 
rity ' of the Turkish empire. Which policy has succeeded, and 
which failed, a comparison of maps at intervals of twenty-five 
years will show. Turkey in Europe has been shriveled up in 
the last half century. It is shrinking back and back toward 
Asia, and, though all the ' powers ' but Russia should unite 
their forces to maintain the Ottoman system in Europe, there is 
a manifest destiny visible in the history of the last fifty years 
that must defeat them." 



CHAPTER 11, VERSE 45. 291 

A correspondent of the Christian Union^ writing from Con- 
stantinople under date of Oct. 8, 1878, said : — 

''When we consider the difficulties which now beset this 
feeble and tottering government, tlie only loonder is that it can 
stand for a day. Aside from the funded debt of $1,000,000,- 
000 upon which it pays no interest, it has an enormous floating 
debt representing all the expenses of the war; its employees are 
unpaid; its army has not been disbanded or even reduced; and 
its paper money has become almost worthless. The people 
have lost heart, and expect every day some new revolution or 
a renewal of the war. The government does not know which 
to distrust most, its friends or its enemies." 

Since 1878 the tendency of all movements in the East has 
been in the same direction, foreboding greater pressure upon 
the Turkish government in the direction of its expulsion from 
the soil of Europe. The occupation of Egypt by the English, 
which took place in 1883, is another step toward the inevitable 
result, and furnishes a movement which the Independent^ of 
New York, ventures to call ' ' the beginning of the end. ' ' 

In 1895 the world was startled by the report of the terrible 
atrocities inflicted by the Turks and Kurds upon the Arme- 
nians. Reliable reports show that many thousands have been 
slaughtered, with every circumstance of fiendish cruelty. The 
nations through their ambassadors protest and threaten; the 
sultan promises, but does nothing. He evidently has not 
the disposition, if he has the power, to stay the tide of blood. 
Fanatical Moslems seem seized with a frenzy to destroy all the 
Armenian men and take their wives and children to slavery or 
a more lamentable fate. At this writing (January, 1897) thou- 
sands of widows and orphans are said to be wandering in the 
mountains of Armenia, perishing of cold and hunger; and they 
stretch out despairing hands to England and America to save 
them from total destruction. A thrill of horror has run through 
Christendom, and a cry is rising from all lands, Let the Turk 
be driven out, and come to his end ! And yet the selfishness 
of the nations, and their jealousy of each other, restrain their 
hands from arresting this carnival of slaughter and ruin, by 



292 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

unseating the terrible Turk. How l(jng, C) Lord, liow 
long ? 

Thus all evidence goes to show that the Turk must soon 
leave Europe. Where will he then plant the tabernacles of his 
palace ? In Jerusalem ? That certainly is the most probable 
point. Newton on the Prophecies, p. 31<S, says : '' Between 
the seas in the glorious holy mountain nmst denote, as we 
have shown, some part of the Holy Land. There the Turk 
shall encamp with all his powers; yet he 'shall come to his 
end, and none shall help him,' — shall help him effectually, or 
deliver him." 

Time will soon determine this matter; and it may be but 
a few months. And when this takes place, what follows i — 
Events of the most momentous interest to all the inhabitants 
of this world, as the next chapter immediately shows. 



Note. — Since the foregoing was written, the situation in Turkey has 
grown continually worse. Armenian massacres have continued, and be- 
tween January and September, 1896, rebellion against the Turk broke out 
in Crete and Macedonia. Besides this, fanatical Moslems themselves 
show signs of dissatisfaction with the sultan, and threaten revolution 
Serious disturbance has just taken place (September, 18JH») in Constanti- 
nople, resulting in the slaughter of some two thousand Armenians. The 
crown-heads of Europe are now in consultation in regard to the disposi- 
tion of the-aifairs of Turkey, with the prospect that some determination 
will be reached, and thus the only obstacle in the way of the dissolution 
of the Turkish empire bo removed. 



XII 




Yerse 1. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince 
which standeth for the children of thy people : and there shall be a time 
of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same 
time : and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that 
shall be found written in the book. 



DEFINITE time is introduced in this verse, not a time 
C revealed in names or figures which specify any particular 
(^)3X y^^^ or month or day, but a time made definite by the 
occurrence of a certain event with which it stands connected. 
''At that time." What time ?^ The time to which we are 
brought by the closing verse of the precediiig chapter, — the 
time when the king of the north shall plant the tabernacles 
of his palace in the glorious holy mountain; or, in other 
words, when the Turk, driven from Europe, shall hastily make 
Jerusalem his temporary seat of government. We noticed, in 
remarks upon the latter portion of the preceding chapter, some 
of the agencies already in operation for the accomplishment of 
this end, and some of the indications that the Turk will very 
soon be obliged to make this move. And when this event 
takes place, he is to come to his end; and then^ according to 
this verse, we look for the standing up of Michael, the great 
prince. This movement on the part of Turkey is the signal for 
the standing up of Michael; that is, it marks this event as next 
in order. And to guard against all misunderstanding, let the 

[293] 



294 PROPHECY OF DAXIKL. 

reader note that the position is not here taken that the next 
movement against the Turks will drive them from Europe, or 
that when they shall establish their capital at Jerusalem Christ 
begins his reign without the lapse of a day or an hour of 
time. But here are the events, to come, as we believe, in the 
following order : (1) Further pressure brought to bear in some 
way upon the Turk; (2) His retirement from Europe; (3) His 
final stand at Jerusalem; (4) The standing up of Michael, or 
the beginning of the reign of Christ, and his coming in the 
clouds of heaven. And it is not reasonable to suppose that 
any great amount of time will elapse between these events. 

Who, then, is Michael ? and what is his standing up ? — 
Michael is called, in Jude 9, the '' archangel." This means the 
chief angel, or the head over the angels. There is but one. 
Who is he ? — He is the one whose voice is heard from heaven 
when the dead are raised. 1 Thess. 4 : 16. And whose voice 
is heard in connection with that event ? — The voice of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. John 5 : 28. Tracing back the evidence 
with this fact as a basis, we reach the following conclusions : 
The voice of the Son of God is the voice of the archangel; 
the archangel, then, is the Son of God. But the archangel is 
Michael; hence also Michael is the Son of God. The expres- 
sion of Daniel, "the great prince which standeth for the chil- 
dren of thy people," is alone sufficient to identify the one here 
spoken of as the Saviour of men. He is the Prince of life 
(Acts 3 : 15); and God hath exalted him to be a "Prince and 
a Saviour." Acts 5 : 31. He is the great Prince. There is 
no one greater, save the sovereign Father. 

And he "standeth for the children of thy people." He 
condescends to take the servants of God in this poor mortal 
state, and redeem them for the subjects of his future kingdom. 
He stands for us. His people are essential to his future pur- 
poses, an inseparable part of the purchased inheritance; and 
they are to be the chief agents of that joy in view of which 
Christ endured all the sacrifice and sulfering which have 
marked his intervention in behalf of the fallen race. Amaz- 
ing honor I Be everlasting gratitude repaid him for his con- 



CHAPTER 12, TERSE 1. 295 

descension and mercy unto us ! Be his the kingdom, power, 
and glory, forever and ever ! 

We now come to the second question, What is the standing 
up of Michael ? The key to the interpretation of this expres- 
sion is furnished us in verses 2 and 3 of chapter 11 : "There 
shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; " "A mighty king 
shall stand up, that shall reign with great dominion. ' ' There 
can be no doubt as to the meaning of these expressions in 
these instances. They signify to take the kingdom, to reign. 
The same expression in the verse under consideration must 
mean the same. At that time, Michael shall stand up, shall 
take the kingdom, shall commence his reign. 

But is not Christ reigning now ? — Yes, associated with his 
Father on the throne of universal dominion. Eph. 1 : 20—22; 
Rev. 3 : 21. But this throne, or kingdom, he gives up at the 
end of this dispensation (1 Cor. 15 : 24); and then he com- 
mences his reign brought to view in the text, when he stands 
up, or takes his own kingdom, the long-promised throne of his 
father David, and establishes a dominion of which there shall 
be no end. Luke 1 : 32, 33. 

An examination of all the events that constitute, or are in- 
separably connected with, this change in the position of our Lord, 
does not, come within the scope of this work. Suffice it to say 
that then the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom ' ' of 
our Lord and of his Christ. ' ' His priestly robes are laid aside 
for royal vesture. The work of mercy is done, and the proba- 
tion of our race is ended. Then, he that is filthy is beyond 
the hope of recovery; and he that is holy is beyond the danger 
of falling. All cases are decided. And from that time on, 
till the terrified nations behold the majestic form of their in- 
sulted King in the clouds of heaven, the nations are broken as 
with a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel, 
by a time of trouble such as never was, a series of judgments 
unparalleled in the world's history, culminating in the revela- 
tion of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven in flaming fire, to 
take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the 
gospeh 2 Thess. 1 : T, 8; Rev. 11 : 15; 22: 11, 12. 
t 



296 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Thus momentous are tlie events introduced by the standing 
up of Michael. And he thus stands up, or takes the kingdom, 
marking the introduction of this decisive period in human his- 
tory, for some length of time before he returns personally to 
this earth. How important, then, that we have a knowledge 
of his position, that we may be able to trace the progress of 
his work, and understand when that thrilling moment draws 
near which ends his intercession in behalf of mankind, and 
fixes the destiny of all forever. 

But how are we to know this ? How are we to determine 
what is transpiring in the far-otf heaven of heavens, in the 
sanctuary above ? — God has been so good as to place the 
means of knowing this in our hands. When certain great 
events take place on earth, he has told us what events synchro- 
nizing with them, occur in heaven. By things which are seen, 
we thus learn of things that are unseen. As we "look through 
nature up to nature's God," so through terrestrial phenomena 
and events we trace great movements in the heavenly world. 
When the king of the north plants the- tabernacles of his 
palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, a 
movement for which we already behold the initial steps, then 
Michael, our Lord, stands up, or receives from his Father the 
kingdom, preparatory to his return to this earth. Or it might 
have been expressed in words like these : Then our Lord ceases 
his work as our great High Priest, and the probation of the 
world is finished. The great prophecy of the 2300 days gives us 
definitely the commencement of the final division of the work 
in the sanctuary in heaven. The verse before us gives us data 
whereby we can discover approximately the time of its close. 

In connection with the standing up of Michael, there occurs 
a time of trouble such as never was. In Matt. 2-i : 21 we read 
of a period of tribulation such as never was before it, nor 
should be after it. This tribulation, fulfilled in the oppression 
and slaughter of the church by the papal power, is already 
past; while the time of trouble of Dan. 12 : 1, is, according to 
the view we take, still future. How can there be two times of 
trouble, many years apart, each of thorn greater than any that 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 2. 297 

had been before it, or should bejafter it? To avoid difficulty 
here, let this distinction be carefully noticed : The tribulation 
spoken of in Matthew is tribulation upon the church. Christ 
is there speaking to his disciples, and of his disciples in coming 
time. They were the ones involved, and for their sake the 
days of tribulation were to be shortened. Yerse 22. Whereas, 
the time of trouble mentioned in Daniel is not a time of relig- 
ious persecution, but of national calamity. There has been 
nothing like it since there was — not a church, but — - a nation. 
This comes upon the world. This is the last trouble to come 
upon the world in its present state. In Matthew there is refer- 
ence made to time beyond that tribulation; for after that was 
past, there was never to be any like it upon the people of God. 
But there is no reference here in Daniel to future time after 
the trouble here mentioned; for this closes up this world's his- 
tory. It includes the seven last plagues of Revelation 16, and 
culminates in the revelation of the Lord Jesus, coming upon 
his pathway of clouds in flaming fire, to visit destruction upon 
his enemies who would not have him to reign over them. But 
out of this tribulation every one shall be delivered who shall be 
found written in the book — the book of life; "for in Mount 
Zion . . . shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in 
the remnant whom the Lord shall call." Joel 2 : 32. 

Verse 2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth 
sTiall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting 
contempt. 

This verse also shows how momentous a period is intro- 
duced by the standing up of Michael, or the commencement of 
the reign of Christ, as set forth in the first verse of this chapter; 
for the event here described in explicit terms is a resurrection 
of the dead. Is this the general resurrection which takes place 
at the second coming of Christ ? or is there to intervene between 
Christ's reception of the kingdom and his revelation to earth in 
all his advent glory (Luke 19 : 12) a special resurrection an- 
swering to the description here given ? One of these it must 
be; for every declaration of Scripture will be fulfilled. 



298 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Why may it not be the former, or the resurrection which 
occm-s at the last trmnp ? Answer : Because only the right- 
eous, to the exclusion of all the wicked, have part in that 
resurrection. Those who sleep in Christ then come forth; but 
they only, for the rest of the dead live not again for a thou- 
sand years. Kev. 20 : 5. So then the geiwral resurrection of 
the whole race is comprised in two grand divisions, first, of the 
righteous exclusively, at the coming of Christ; secondly, of the 
wicked exclusively, a thousand years thereafter. The general 
resurrection is not a mixed resurrection. The righteous and 
the wicked do not come up promiscuously at the same time. 
But each of these two classes is set off by itself, and the time 
which elapses between their respective resurrections is plainly 
stated to be a thousand years. 

But in the resurrection brought to view in the verse before us, 
many of both righteous and wicked come up together. It cannot 
therefore be the first resurrection, which includes the righteous 
only, nor the second resurrection, which is as distinctly confined 
to the wicked. If the text read, Many of them that sleep in 
the dust of the earth shall awake to everlasting life, then the 
''many " might be interpreted as including all the righteous, 
and the resurrection be that of the just at the second coming 
of Christ. But the fact that some of the many are wicked, and 
rise to shame and everlasting contempt, bars the way to such 
an application. 

It may be objected that this text does not afiirm the awak- 
ening of any but the righteous, according to the translation of 
Bush and Whiting; namely, "And many of them that sleep in 
the dust of the earth shall awake, these to everlasting life, and 
those to shame and everlasting contempt. ' ' It will be noticed, 
first of all, that this translation (which is not by any means 
above criticism)' proves nothing till the evident ellipsis is sup- 
plied. This ellipsis some therefore undertake to supply as 
follows: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the 
earth shall awake, these [the awakened ones] to everlasting 
life, and those [the unawakened ones] to shame an4 everlasting 
contempt." It will be noticed, again, that this does not supply 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 2. 299 

the ellipses, but only adds a comment, which is a very different 
thing. To supply the ellipsis is simply to insert those words 
which are necessary to complete the sentence. ' ' Many of 
them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake," is a com- 
plete sentence. The subject and predicate are both expressed. 
The next member, <'Some [or these] to everlasting life," is 
not complete. What is wanted to complete it ? Not a com- 
ment, giving some one's opinion as to who are intended by 
"these, " but a verb of which these shall be the subject. What 
verb shall it be ? This must be determined by the preceding 
portion of the sentence, which is complete, where the verb shall 
awake is used. This, then, is the predicate to be supplied : 
"Some [or these] shall awahe to everlasting life. " Applying 
the same rule to the next member, ' ' Some [ or those ] to 
shame and everlasting contempt," which is not in itself a com- 
plete sentence, we iind ourselves obliged to supply the same 
words, and read it, ' ' Some [or those] shall awake to shame and 
everlasting contempt. ' ' Anything less than this will not com- 
plete the sense, and anything different will pervert the text; 
for a predicate to be supplied cannot go beyond one already 
expressed. The affirmation made in the text pertains only to 
the many who awake. Nothing is affirmed of the rest who do 
not then awake. And to say that the expression ' ' to shame 
and everlasting contempt ' ' applies to them, when nothing is 
affirmed of them, is not only to outrage the sense of the pas- 
sage, but the laws of language as well. And of the many who 
awake, some come forth to everlasting life, and some to shame 
and everlasting contempt, which further proves a resurrection 
to consciousness for these also; for while contempt may be felt 
and manifested by others toward those who are guilty, shame 
can be felt and manifested only by the guilty parties them- 
selves. This resurrection, therefore, as already shown, com- 
prises some of both righteous and wicked, and cannot be the 
general resurrection at the last day. 

Is there, then, any place for a special or limited resurrec- 
tion, or elsewhere any intimation of such an event, before the 
Lord appears ? The resurrection here predicted takes place 



300 PROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

wlicn God's people are delivered from the great time of trouble 
with which the history of this world terminates; and it seems 
from Kev. 22 : 11 that this deliverance is given before the Lord 
appears. The awful moment arrives when he that is filthy and 
unjust is pronounced inijust still, and he that is righteous 
and holy is pronounced holy still. Then the cases of all are 
forever decided. And when this sentence is pronounced upon 
the righteous, it must be deliverance to them; for then they are 
placed beyond all reach of danger or fear of evil. But the 
Lord has not at that time made his appearance; for he imme- 
diately adds, "And, behold, I come quickly." The utterance 
of this solemn fiat which seals the righteous to everlasting life, 
and the wicked to eternal death, is supposed to be synchronous 
with the great voice which is heard from the throne in the tem- 
ple of heaven, saying. It is done ! Rev. 16 : IT. And this is 
evidently the voice of God, so often alluded to in descriptions 
of the scenes connected with the last day. Joel speaks of it, 
and says (chapter 3 : 16): "The Lord also shall roar out of 
Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and 
the earth shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of his 
people, and the strength of the children of Israel." The mar- 
gin reads instead of "hope," "place of re})air, or harbor.'' 
Then, at this time, when God's voice is heard from heaven, 
just previous to the coming of the Son of man, God is a harbor 
for liis people, or, which is the same thing, provides them de- 
liverance. Here, then, at the voice of God, when the deci- 
sions of eternity are pronounced upon the race, and the last 
stupendous scene is just to open upon a doomed world, God 
gives to the astonished nations another evidence and pledge of 
his power, and raises from the dead a multitude who have long 
slept in the dust of the earth. 

Thus we see that there is a time and place for the resurrec- 
tion of Dan. 12 : 2. We now add that a })assage in the book of 
Kevelation makes it necessary to suppose a resurrection of this 
kind to take place. Eev. 1 : 7 reads: " Behold, he cometh with 
clouds [this is unquestionably the second advent]; and every eye 
shall see him [of the nations then living on the earth], and they 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 2. 301 

also which pierced him [ those who took an active part in the 
terrible work of his crucifixion] ; and all kindreds of the earth 
shall wail because of him. ' ' Those who crucified the Lord, 
would, unless there was an exception made in their cases, re- 
main in their graves till the end of the thousand years, and 
come up in the general assembly of the wicked at that time. 
But here it is stated that they behold the Lord at his second 
advent. They must therefore have a special resurrection for 
that purpose. 

And it is certainly most appropriate that some who were 
eminent in holiness, who labored and suffered for their hope 
of a coming Saviour, but died without the sight, should be 
raised a little before, to v/itness the scenes attending his glo- 
rious epiphany; as, in like manner, a goodly company came out 
of their graves after his resurrection, to behold his risen glory 
(Matt. 27 : 52, 53), and to escort him in triumph to the right 
hand of the throne of the majesty on high (Eph. 4 : 8, margin); 
and also that some, eminent in wickedness, who have done 
most to reproach the name of Christ and injure his cause, and 
especially those who secured his cruel death upon the cross, and 
mocked and derided him in his dying agonies, should be raised, 
as part of their judicial punishment, to behold his return in the 
clouds of heaven, a celestial victor, in, to them, unendurable 
majesty and splendor. 

One more remark upon this text before passing on. What 
is here said is supposed by some to furnish good evidence of the 
eternal conscious suffering of the wicked, because those of this 
character who are spoken of, come forth to shame and ever- 
lasting contempt. How can they forever suffer these, unless 
they are forever conscious ? It has already been stated that 
shame implies their consciousness; but it will be noticed that 
this is not said to be everlasting. This qualifying word is not 
inserted till we come to the contempt, which is an emotion felt 
by others toward the guilty parties, and does not render nec- 
essary the consciousness of those against whom it is directed. 
And so some read the passage : ' ' Some to shame, and the ever- 
lasting contempt of their companions," And so it will be. 



302 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

Shame for /their wickedness and corruption will burn into their 
very souls, so long as they have conscious being. And when 
they pass away, consumed for their iniquities, their loathsome 
characters and their guilty deeds excite only contempt on the 
part of all the righteous, unmodified and unabated so long as 
they hold them in remembrance at all. The text therefore fur- 
nishes no proof of the eternal suffering of the wicked. 

Vekse. 3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever 
and ever. 

The margin reads "teachers" in place of " wise. '' And 
they that be teachers shall shine as the brightness of the firma- 
ment; that is, of course, those who teach the truth, and lead 
others to a knowledge of it, just previous to the time when the 
events recorded in the foregoing verses are to be fulfilled. 
And, as the world estimates loss and profit, it costs something 
to be teachers of these things in these days. It costs reputa- 
tion, ease, comfort, and often property ; it involves labors, 
crosses, sacrifices, loss of friendship, ridicule, and, not unfre- 
quently, persecution. And the question is often asked, How 
can you afford it ? How can you afford to keep the Sabbath, 
and perhaps lose a situation, reduce your income, or it may 
be even hazard your means of support? O blind, deluded, 
sordid question ! O what shortsightedness, to make obedi- 
ence to what God requires a matter of pecuniary consideration! 
How unlike is this to the noble martyrs, who loved not their 
lives unto the death ! No ; the affording is all on the other 
side. When God commands, we cannot afford to disobey. 
And if we are asked, How can you afford to keep the Sabbath, 
and do other duties involved in rendering obedience to the 
truth? we have only to ask in reply. How can you afford not to 
do it ? And in the coming day, when those who have sought 
to save their lives shall lose them, and those who have been 
willing to hazard all for the sake of the truth and its divine 
Lord, shall receive the glorious reward promised in the text, 
and be raised up to shine as the firmament, and as the iniper- 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 3. 303 

ishable stars forever and ever, it will then be seen who have 
been wise, and who on the contrary, have made the choice of 
blindness and folly. The wicked and worldly now look upon 
Christians as fools and madmen, and congratulate themselves 
upon their superior shrewdness in shunning what they call their 
folly, and avoiding their losses. We need make no response ; 
for those who now render this decision will soon themselves 
reverse it, and that with terrible though unavailing earnestness. 

Meanwhile, it is the Christian's privilege to revel in the 
consolations of this marvelous promise. A conception of its 
magnitude can be gathered only from the stellar worlds them- 
selves. What are these stars, in the likeness of which the 
teachers of righteousness are to shine forever and ever ? How 
much of brightness, and majesty, and length of days, is in- 
volved in this comparison ? 

The sun of our own solar system is one of these stars. 
If we compare it with this globe upon which we live (our 
handiest standard of measurement), we find it an orb of no 
small magnitude and magnificence. Our earth is 8000 miles 
in diameter; but the sun's diameter is 885,680 miles. In size 
it is one and a half million times larger than our globe; and 
in the matter of its substance, it would balance three hundred 
and fifty-two thousand worlds like ours. What immensity 
is this ! 

Yet this is far from being the largest or the brightest of 
the orbs which drive their shining chariots in myriads through 
the heavens. His proximity (he being only some ninety-five 
million miles from us) gives him with us a controlling pres- 
ence and influence. But far away in the depths of space, 
so far that they appear like mere points of light, blaze other 
orbs of vaster size and greater glory. The nearest fixed star, 
Alpha Centauri, in the southern hemisphere, is found, by the 
accuracy and efficiency of modern instruments, to be nineteen 
thousand million miles away; but the pole-star system is fif- 
teen times as remote, or two hundred and eighty-five thou- 
sand million miles; and it shines with a luster equal to that 
of eighty-six of our suns; others are still larger, as, for in- 



304 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

stance, Vega, which emits the light of three hundred and 
forty-four of our suns; Capella, four hundred and thirty; 
Arcturus, five hundred and sixteen; and so on, till at last 
we reach the great star Alcyone, in the constellation of the 
Pleiades, which floods the celestial spaces with a brilliancy 
twelve thousand times that of the ponderous orb which lights 
and controls our solar system ! Why, then, does it not appear 
more luminous to us ? — Ah ! its distance is twenty-five million 
diameters of the earth's orbit; and the latter is one hundred 
and ninety million miles ! Figures are weak to express such 
distances. It will be sufficient to say that its glowing light 
must traverse space as light only travels, — 192,000 miles a 
second, — for a period of more than seven hundred years, be- 
fore it reaches this distant world of ours ! 

Some of these monarchs of the skies rule singly, like our 
own sun. Some are double; that is, what appears to us like 
one star is found to consist of two stars — two suns with their 
retinue of planets, revolving around each other; others are 
triple; some are quadruple; and one, 'at least, is sextuple. 

Besides this, they show all the colors of the rainbow. 
Some systems are white, some blue, some red, some yellow, 
some green; and this means diflferent- colored days for the 
planets of those systems. Castor gives his planets green days. 
The double pole-star gives his yellow. In some, the difterent 
suns belonging to the same system are variously colored. Says 
Dr. Burr, in his Ecce Coelum, p. 136 : *' And, as if to make 
that Southern Cross the fairest object in all the heavens, we 
find in it a group of more than a hundred variously colored 
red, green, blue, and bluish-green suns, so closely thronged 
together as to appear in a powerful telescope like a superb 
bouquet, or piece of fancy jewelry." 

And what of the age of these glorious bodies ? A few years 
pass away, and all things earthly gather the mold of age, and 
the odor of decay. How mucli in this world has perished 
entirely ! But the stars shine on as fresh as in the beginning. 
Centuries and cycles have gone by, kingdoms have arisen and 
slowly passed away; we go back beyond the dim and shadowy 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 4. 305 

horizon of history, go back even to the earliest moment intro- 
duced by revelation, when order was evoked from chaos, and 
the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted 
for joy — even then the stars were on their stately marches, and 
flow long before this we know not; for astronomers tell us 
of nebulsB lying on the farthest outposts of telescopic vision, 
whose light in its never-ceasing flight would consume five 
million years in reaching this planet. So ancient are these 
stellar orbs. Yet their brightness is not dimmed, nor their 
force abated. The dew of youth still seems fresh upon them. 
No broken outline shows the foothold of decay; no faltering 
motion reveals the decrepitude of age. Of all things visible, 
these stand next to the Ancient of days; and their undimin- 
ished glory is a prophecy of eternity. 

And thus shall they who turn many to righteousness shine 
in a glory that shall bring joy even to the heart of the Ke- 
deemer; and thus shall their years roll on forever and ever. 

Verse 4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, 
even to the time of the end : many shall run to and fro, and knowledge 
shall be increased. 

The ''words" and "book" here spoken of, doubtless 
refer to the things which had been revealed to Daniel in this 
prophecy. These things were to be shut up and sealed until 
the time of the end; that is, they were not to be specially 
studied, or to any great extent understood, till that time. The 
time of the end, as has already been shown, commenced in 
1798. As the book was closed up and sealed 2^6> that time, the 
plain inference is that at that time, or from that point, the book 
would be unsealed; that is, people would be better able to un- 
derstand it, and would have their attention specially called to 
this part of the inspired word. Of w^hat has been done on the 
subject of prophecy since that time, it is unnecessary to remind 
the reader. The prophecies, especially Daniel's prophecy, have 
been under examination by all students of the word wherever 
civilization has spread abroad its light upon the earth. And 
so the remainder of the verse, being a prediction of what should 
take place after the time of the end commenced, says, " Many 
33 



306 PROPHECY OF DAXIEL. 

shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.'* 
Whether this running to and fro refers to the passing of peo- 
ple from place to place, and the great improvements in the 
facilities for transportation and travel made within the present 
I century, or whether it means, as some understand it, a turning 
to and fro in the prophecies, that is, a diligent and earnest 
search into prophetic truth, the fulfilment is certainly and surely 
before our eyes. It must have its application in one of these 
two ways; and in both of these directions the present age is 
very strongly marked. 

So of the increase of knowledge. It must refer either to 
the increase of knowledge in general, the development of the 
- arts and sciences, or an increase of knowledge in reference to 
those things revealed to Daniel, which were closed up and 
sealed to the time of the end. Here, again, apply it which 
way we will, the fulfilment is most marked and complete. 
Look at the -marvelous achievements of the human mind, and 
the cunning works of men's hands rivaling the magician's 
wildest dreams, which have been accomplished within the last 
hundred years. It was recently stated in the Scientific Ameri- 
can that within this time more advancement has been made in 
all scientific attainments, and more progress in all that tends 
to domestic comfort, the rapid transaction of business among 
men, the transmission of intelligence from one to another, and 
the means of rapid transit from place to place and even from 
continent to continent, than all that was done for three thou- 
sand years previous, put together. 

By a series of vignettes the artist has given us in the ac- 
companying plates a bird's-eye view of some of the most 
wonderful discoveries and marvelous scientific and mechanical 
achievements of the present age. In the upper left hand cor- 
ner of Plate I, we have — 

1. The self-binding reaping machine, representing a largo 
class of inventions by wiiich the processes of agriculture have 
been revolutionized within the memory of multitudes now 
living. 




INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE, PLATE 




INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE, PLATE IL 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 4. 307 

2. On the circular shield is the cotton gin, which in its first 
rude form, by Whitney, in 1793, lifted cotton culture into one 
of the great industries of the world. 

3. The sewing-machine, of the importance of which in the 
industrial world since its invention by Elias Howe, Jr., in 
1846, nothing need be said. 

4. An electric street-car, propelled by the trolley system, 
which represents the achievements in electrical discovery, such 
as electric lighting, electric power, as illustrated in the great 
Niagara plant, etc. 

5. The phonograph, by which human speech can be indefi- 
nitely preserved and transmitted. 

6. The invention of photography, with which, with its ap- 
plication to engraving, all are familiar. 

7. Typical of the wonderful inventions in printing machin- 
ery, some perfecting presses delivering from a roll of pa- 
per, from 30,000 to 60,000 completed papers, printed on both 
sides, cut, pasted, and folded ready for delivery, every hour. 

8. The monster siege and battle guns of the present day. 

9. Kepresents the monstrous telescopes of the last quarter 
of a century, by which such marvelous discoveries in the 
heavens have been made. 

10. The telephone, by which a man in Chicago can carry 
on vocal conversation with another man in New York. 

11. The discovery of petroleum, which has revolutionized 
domestic lighting, and is making possible horseless vehicles 
for common roads. 

12. A mining scene suggesting the pneumatic drill and 
other modern devices for tunneling mountains and exploring 
the hidden depths of the earth. 

13. The steam fire-engine, one of the greatest safeguards 
of modern times. 

14. The Brooklyn Bridge, showing what strides have been 
made in engineering skill in these days. This is probably soon 
to be surpassed by a similar and much larger structure, over 
the Hudson, connecting New York with Jersey City. 



308 I'ROPHECY OP DANIEL. 

15. The Washington monument, the highest solid monii 
ment in the world (555 ft., 5^ inches). 

16. The bicycle, working a revolution in suburban personal 
travel. The manufacturers' estimate for the output in 1896, in 
the United States alone, is three quarters of a million machines. 
This, and trolley street-car propulsion, are rendering horses a 
drug on the market. 

17. A telegraphic instrument. First put in operation in 
1844. There are now untold thousands of miles of telegraphic 
wire in use. 

18. The magnificent ocean iron ships of the present day. 
For passenger and war service nothing was ever produced to 
compare with the great steamers of the present decade. 

19. Railway transportation. The empire express on N. Y. 
Central ; fastest train in the world, averaging nearly sixty miles 
an hour. Jan. 1, 1890, according to Scientific American of 
Aug. 30, 1890, there were in the United States alone 161,397 
miles of track. There were invested in American railways 
19,680,942,240. In 1889 five hundred million passengers, 
were carried, and the gross earnings were over one billion 
dollars. 

Many other things might be spoken of, such as submarine 
armor to explore the depths of the sea, balloons to explore the 
spaces above us, power spinning-machines, and anesthetics to 
prevent pain in surgery, etc., etc. 

What a galaxy of wonders to originate in a single age ! 
How marvelous the scientific attainments of the present day, 
upon which all these discoveries and achievements concen- 
trate their light ! Truly, viewed from this standpoint, we 
have reached the age of the increase of knowledge. 

And to the honor of Christianity let it be noted in what 
lands, and by whom, all these discoveries have been made, and 
so much done to add to the facilities and comforts of life. It 
is in Christian lands, among Christian men, since the great 
Reformation. Not to the Dark Ages, which furnished only a 
travesty of Christianity; not to pagans, who in their ignorance 
know not God, nor to those who in Chi'istian lands deny him, 



CHAPTER 12, VERSE 4. 309 

is the credit of this progress due. Indeed, it is the very spirit 
of equality and individual liberty inculcated in the gospel of 
Christ when preached in its purity, which unshackles human 
limbs, unfetters human minds, invites them to the highest use 
of their powers, and makes possible such an age of free thougiit 
and action, in which these wonders can be achieved. 

Of the marvelous character of the present age, Victor Hugo 
speaks as follows : — 

^'In science it works all miracles; it makes saltpeter out of 
cotton, a horse out of steam, a laborer out of the voltaic pile, 
a courier out of the electric fluid, and a painter of the sun; it 
bathes itself in the subterranean waters, while it is warmed with 
the central fires ; it opens upon the two infinities those two 
windows, — the telescope on the infinitely great, the microscope 
on the infinitely little, and it finds in the first abyss the stars 
of heaven, and in the second abyss the insects, which prove the ■ 
existence of a God. It annihilates time, it annihilates distance, 
it annihilates suffering; it writes a letter from Paris to London, 
and has the answer back in ten minutes; it cuts off the leg of 
a man — the man sings and smiles." — Le Petit Napoleon, 

But if we take the other standpoint, and refer the increase 
of knowledge to an increase of Biblical knowledge, we have 
only to look at the wonderful light which, within the past sixty 
years, has shone upon the Scriptures. The fulfilment of proph- 
ecy has been revealed in the light of history. The use of a 
better principle of interpretation has led to conclusions show- 
ing, beyond dispute, that the end of all things is near. Truly 
the seal has been taken from the book, and knowledge respect- 
ing what God has revealed in his word, is wonderfully in- 
creased. We think it is in this respect that the prophecy is 
more especially fulfilled, but only in an age like the present 
could the prophecy, even in this direction, be accomplished. 

That we are in the time of the end, when the book of this 
prophecy should no longer be sealed, but be open and under- 
stood, is shown by Kev. 10 : 1, 2, where a mighty angel is seen 
to come down from heaven with a little book in his hand open. 
For proof that the little book, there said to be open, is the book 



310 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

here closed up and sealed, and that that angel delivers his mes- 
sage in this generation, see on Rev. 10:2. 

Verse 5. Then T Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two. 
the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side 
of the bank of the river. (5. And one said to the man clothed in linen, 
which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end 
of these wonders? 7. And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was 
upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left 
hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever that it shall be 
for a time, times, and an half ; and when he shall have accomplished to 
scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 

The question, "How long shall it be to the end of these 
wonders ? ' ' midoubtedly has reference to all that has previously 
been mentioned, including the standing up of Michael, the time 
of trouble, the deliverance of God's people, and the special and 
antecedent resurrection of verse 2. And the answer seems to 
be given in two divisions : First, a specific prophetic period is 
marked off; and, secondly, an indefinite period follows before 
the conclusion of all these things is reached; just as we have it 
in chapter 8:13, 14. When the question was asked, "How 
long the vision . . . to give both the sanctuary and the host 
to be trodden under foot? " the answer mentioned a definite 
period of 2300 days, and then an indefinite period of the 
cleansing of the sanctuary. So in the text before us, there is 
given the period of a time, times, and a half, or 1260 years, 
and then an indefinite period for the continuance of the scatter- 
ing of the power of the holy people, before the consummation. 

The 1260 years mark the period of papal supremacy. Why 
is this period here introduced ? — Probably because this power 
is the one which does more than any other in the world's history 
toward scattering the power of the holy people, or oppressing 
the church of God. But what shiill we understand by the ex- 
pression, <' Shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the 
holy people"? A literal translation of the Septuagint seems 
to present it in a clearer light: "When he shall have finished 
the scattering of the power of the holy people." To whom 
does the pronoun A^ refer? According to the wording of this 
scripture, the antecedent would at first sight seem to be "Him 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 5-9. 311 

that liveth forever," or Jehovah; but, as an erainent expositor 
of the prophecies judiciously remarks, in considering the pro- 
nouns of the Bible we are to interpret them according to the 
facts of the case; and hence must frequently refer them to an 
antecedent understood, rather than to som_e noun which is ex- 
pressed. So, here, the little horn, or man of sin, having been 
introduced by the particular mention of the time of his suprem- 
acy; namely, 1260 years, may be the power referred to by the 
pronoun he. For 1260 years he had grievously oppressed the 
church, or scattered its power. After his supremacy is taken 
away, his disposition toward the truth and its advocates still 
remains, and his power is still felt to a certain extent, and he 
continues his work of oppression just as far as he is able, till — 
when ? — Till tlie last of the events brought to view in verse 1, 
the deliverance of God's people, every one that is found written 
in the book. Being thus delivered, persecuting powers are no 
longer able to oppress them; their power is no longer scattered; 
the end of the wonders brought to view in this great prophecy 
is reached; and all its predictions are accomplished. 

Or, we may, without particularly altering the sense, refer 
the pronoun he to the one mentioned in the oath of verse 7, 
as "Him that liveth forever," that is God, since he employs-the 
agency of earthly powers in chastising and disciplining his 
people, and in that sense may be said himself to scatter their 
power. By his prophet he said concerning the kingdom of 
Israel, ' ' / will overturn, overturn, overturn it, . . o until He 
come whose right it is." Eze. 21:27, And again, ''Jeru- 
salem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times 
of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21 : 24. Of like import 
is the prophecy of Dan. 8 : 13 : "How long the vision . . . 
to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under 
foot?" Who gives them to this condition? — God. Why? 
— To discipline ; to " purify and make white ' ' his people. 
How long ? — Till the sanctuary is cleansed. 

Yeese 8. And I heard, but I understood not : then said I, O my 
Lord, what shall be the end of these things ? 9. And he said, Go thy 
way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the 



312 PROPHECY OF DANIEL, 

end. 10. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the 
wicked shall do wickedly : and none of the wicked shall understand ; 
but the wise shall understand- 
How forcibly are we reminded, by Daniel's solicitude to 
understand fully all that had been shown him, of Peter's words 
where he speaks of the prophets' inquiring and searching dili- 
gently to understand the predictions concerning the sufferings 
of Christ and the glory that should follow; and also of the fact 
that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister. How 
little were some of the prophets permitted to understand of 
what they wrote ! But they did not therefore refuse to write. 
If God required it, they knew that in due time he would see 
that his people derived from their writings all the benefit that 
he intended. So the language here used to Daniel was the 
same as telling him that when the right time should come, the 
wise would understand the meaning of what be had written, 
and be profited thereby. The time of the end was the time in 
whicb the Spirit of God was to break the seal from off this 
book; and consequently this was the time during which the 
wise should understand, while the wicked, lost to all sense of 
the value of eternal truth, w^ith hearts callous and hardened in 
sin; would grow continually more wicked and more blind. 
None of the wicked understand. The efforts which the wise 
put forth to understand, they call folly and presumption, and 
ask, in sneering phrase, ''Where is the promise of his com- 
ing ? " And should the question be raised, Of what time and 
what generation speaketh the prophet this ? the solemn answer 
would be, Of the present time, and of the generation now be- 
fore us. This language of the prophet is now receiving a most 
striking fulfilment. 

The phraseology of verse 10 seems at first sight to be rather 
peculiar : "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried." 
How, it may be asked, can they be made white, and then tried 
(as the language would seem to imply), when it is by being 
tried that they are purified and made white? Answer: The 
language doubtless describes a process which is many times 
repeated in the experience of those, who, during this time, are 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 10, 11. 313 

being made ready for the coming and kingdom of tlie Lord. 
Thej are pm-ified and made white to a certain degree, as com- 
pared with their former condition. Then they are again tried. 
Greater tests are brought to bear upon them. If they endure 
these, the work of purification is thus carried on to a still 
greater extent, — the process of being made white is made to 
reach a still higher stage. And having reached this state, they 
are tried again, resulting in their being still further purified and 
made white; and thus the process goes on till characters are 
developed which will stand the test of the great day, and a 
spiritual condition is reached which needs no further trial. 

Verse 11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken 
away, and the abomination that mal^eth desolate set up, there shall be a 
thousand two hundred and ninety days. 

We have here a new prophetic period introduced; namely, 
1290 prophetic days, which would denote the same number of 
literal years. From the reading of the text, some have in- 
ferred (though the inference is not a necessary one) that this 
period begins with the setting up of the abomination of desola- 
tion, or the papal power, in 538, and consequently extends to 
1828 But while we find nothing in the latter year to mark its 
termination, we do find evidence in the margin that it begins 
hefore the setting up of the papal abomination. The margin 
reads, ''To set up the abomination," etc. With this reading 
the text would stand thus : ' ' And from the time that the daily 
sacrifice shall be taken away to set up [or in order to set up] 
the abomination that maketh desolate, there shall be a thou- 
sand two hundred and ninety days." The daily has already 
been shown to be, not the daily sacrifice of the Jews, but the 
daily or continual abomination, that is, paganism. (See on 
chapter 8 : 13.) This had to be taken away to prepare the 
way for the papacy. For the historical events showing how 
this was accomplished in 508, see on chapter 11 : 31. We are 
not told directly to what event these 1290 days reach; but 
inasmuch as their commencement is marked by a work which 
takes place to prepare the way for the setting up of the papacy. 



314 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

it would be most natural to conclude that their end would be 
marked by the cessation of papal supremacy. Counting back, 
then, 1290 years from 1798, we have the year 508, where it 
has been shown that paganism was taken away, thirty years 
before the setting up of the papacy. This period is doubtless 
given to show the date of the taking away of the daily, and it 
is the only one which does this. The two periods, therefore, 
the 1290 and the 1200 days, terminate together in 1798, the 
one beginning in 538, and the other in 508, thirty years 
previous. 

Verse 12. Blessed is he thai waiteth, and cometh to the thousand 
three hundred and five and thirty days 13. But go ihou thy ^vay till the 
end be ; for thou shalt rest, and stand In thy lot at the end of the days. 

Still another prophetic period is here introduced, denoting 
1335 years. The testimony concerning this period, like that 
which pertains to the 1290 years, is very meager. Can we tell 
when this period begins and ends ? The only clue we have to 
the solution of this question, is the fact that it is spoken of in 
immediate connection with the 1290 years, which commenced, 
as shown above, in 508. From that point there shall be, says 
the prophet, 1290 days. And the very next sentence reads, 
'* Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days." 
From what point ? — From the same point, undoubtedly, as 
that from which the 1290 date; namely, 508. Unless they are 
to be reckoned from this point, it is impossible to locate them, 
and they must be excepted from the prophecy of Daniel when 
we apply to it the words of Christ, "Whoso readeth, let him 
understand." Matt. 2tt : 15. From this point they would ex- 
tend to 18d:3; for 1335 added to 508 make 1843. Commenc- 
ing in the spring of the former year, they ended in the spring 
of the latter. 

But how can it be that they have ended, it may be asked, 
since at the end of these days Daniel stands in his lot, which is 
by some supposed to refer to his resurrection from the dead ? 
This question is founded on a misapprehension in two respects : 
First, that the days at the end of which Daniel stands in his 
lot are the 1335 days; and, secondly, that the standing of 



CHAPTER J2, VERSES 12, 13. 315 

Daniel in bis lot is his resurrection, which also cannot be sus- 
tained. The only thing promised sit the end of the 1335 days 
is a blessing unto those who wait and come to that time; that 
is, those who are then living. What is this blessing ? Looking 
at the year 1843, when these years expired, what do we behold? 
— We see a remarkable fulfilment of prophecy in the great 
proclamation of the second coming of Christ. Forty-five years 
before this, the time of the end commenced, the book was un- 
sealed, and light began to increaseo About the year 1843, there 
was a grand culmination of all the light that had been shed 
on prophetic subjects up to that time. The proclamation went 
forth in power. The new and stirring doctrine of the setting 
up of the kingdom of God, shook the world. New life was 
imparted to the true disciples of Christ, The unbelieving were 
condemned, the churches were tested, and a spirit of revival 
was awakened of which modern times, at least, have furnished 
no parallel. 

Was this the blessing? Listen to the Saviour's words: 
' ' Blessed are your eyes, ' ' said he to his disciples, ' ' for they 
see; and your ears, for they hear." Matt« 13 : 16. And again 
he told his followers that prophets and kings had desired to 
see the things which they saw, and had not seen them. But 
' ' blessed, ' ' said he to them, ' ' are the eyes which see the things 
that ye see." Luke 10 : 23, 24. If a new and glorious truth 
was a blessing in the days of Christ to those who received it, 
why was it not equally so in a. d. 1843 ? 

It may be objected that those who engaged in this move- 
ment were disappointed in their expectations; so were the 
disciples of Christ at his first advent, in an equal degree. 
They shouted before him as he rode into Jerusalem, expecting 
that he would then take the kingdom; but the only throne to 
which he then went was the cross; and instead of being hailed 
as king in a royal palace, he was laid a lifeless form in Joseph's 
new sepulcher. Nevertheless, they were ' ' blessed ' ' in receiv- 
ing the truths they had heard. 

It may be objected further that this was not a sufficient 
blessing to be marked by a prophetic period. Why not, since 



316 PROPHECY OF DANIEL. 

the period in which it was to occur; namely, the time of the 
end, is introduced by a prophetic period; since our Lord, in 
verse 14 of his great prophecy of Matthew 24:, makes a special 
announcement of this movement; and since it is still further 
set forth in Rev. 14: : 6, 7, under the symbol of an angel flying 
through mid-heaven with a special announcement of the ever- 
lasting gospel to the inhabitants of the earth ? Surely the Bible 
gives great prominence to this movement. 

Two more questions remain to be briefly noticed : (1) What 
days are referred to in verse 13 ? (2) What is meant by Daniel's 
standing in his lot ? Those who claim that the days are the 
1335, are led to that application by looking back no further 
than to the preceding verse, where the 1335 days are men- 
tioned; whereas, in making an application of these days so in- 
definitely introduced, the whole scope of the prophecy should 
certainly be taken in from chapter 8. Chapters 9, 10, 11, 
and 12 are clearly a continuation and explanation of the vision 
of chapter 8; hence we may say that in the vision of chapter 8, 
as carried out and explained^ there are four prophetic periods; 
namely, the 2300, 1260, 1290, and 1335 days. The first is the 
principal and longest period; the others are but intermediate 
parts and subdivisions of this. Now, when the angel tells 
Daniel, at the conclusion of his instructions, that he shall stand 
in his lot at the end of the days, without specifying which 
period was meant, would not Daniel's mind naturally turn to 
the principal and longest period, the 2300 days, rather than to 
any of its subdivisions ? If this is so, the 2300 are the days 
intendedo The reading of the Septuagint seems to look very 
plainly in this direction : '« But go thy way and rest; for there 
are yet days and seasons to the full accomplishment [of these 
things]; and thou shalt stand in thy lot at the end of the days." 
This certainly carries the mind back to the long period contained 
in the first vision, in relation to which the subsequent instruc- 
tions were given. 

The 2300 days, as has been already shown, terminated in 
1844, and brought us to the cleansing of the sanctuary. How 
did Daniel at that time stand in his lot ? Answer : In the 



CHAPTER 12, VERSES 12, 13. 317 

person of his Advocate, our great High Priest, as he presents 
the cases of the righteous for acceptance to his Father. The 
word here translated lot does not mean a piece of real estate, 
a " lot " of land, but the " decisions of chance," or the " deter- 
minations of Providence." At the end of the days, the lot, so 
to speak, was to be cast. In other words, a determination was 
to be made in reference to those who should be accounted worthy 
of a possession in the heavenly inheritance. And when Daniel's 
case comes up for examination, he is found righteous, stands in 
his lot, is assigned a place in the heavenly Canaan. Does not 
the psalmist refer to this time and event, when he says 
(Ps.l : 5), ''The ungodly shall not stand in the Judgment" ? 

When Israel was about to enter into the promised land, 
the lot was cast, and the possession of each tribe was assigned. 
The tribes thus stood in their respective "lots" long before 
they entered upon the actual possession of the land. The time 
of the cleansing of the sanctuary corresponds to this period 
of Israel's history. We now stand upon the borders of the 
heavenly Canaan, and decisions are being made, assigning to 
some a place in the eternal kingdom, and barring others for- 
ever therefrom. In the decision of his case, Daniel's portion 
in the celestial inheritance will be made sure to him. And 
with him all the faithful will also stand. And when this 
devoted servant of God, who filled up a long life with the no- 
blest deeds of service to his Maker, though cumbered with 
the weightiest cares of this life, shall enter upon his reward 
for well-doing, we too may enter with him into rest. 

We draw the study of this prophecy to a close, with the 
remark that it has been with no small degree of satisfaction that 
we have spent what time and study we have on this wonderful 
prophecy, and in contemplating the character of this most be- 
loved of men and most illustrious of prophets. God is no 
respecter of persons; and a reproduction of Daniel's character 
will secure the divine favor as signally even now. Let us 
emulate his virtues, that we, like him, may have the approba- 
tion of God while here, and dwell amid the creations of his 
infinite glory in the long hereafter. 

24 



BOOK NOTICES. 



Works Issued by the Publishers of " The Bereaa Library. 



SMITH'S DIAGRAM OF PARLIAMENTARY RULES. 32 page?, pocket size, muslin. 50 cents. 
An original and unique diaerram, complete and reliable, showing at a glance the relation of any 
motion to every other motion. The most convenient in size and arrangement of anv piihJicatioD on 
this subject, being the only one that by connecting links directs the eve from any motion to the 
rules that govern it. Size 3^x7^, and only ^ inch thick. 

"Can be utilized by a presiding officer at a glance, and without the embarrassing delays necea 
eary to consult ordinary authority."- hon. Dancl H. Jerome. E.r Ooienxdr of Michujan. 

'■After a careful examination of your "Diagram of Parliamentary Rules.' 1 find it a moat ex- 
haustive and complete compendium of parliamentary X&w."— Benjaynin L. Hewitt. .Speaker of the 
House of Representatives. Hamshiirg. Pa. 

" L have examined your • Diagram of Tarliamentary Rules.' and find it a very useful and complete 
work. It is quite unique, and 1 ha\e never seen parliamentary practise put in a torm at ontt- so 
comprehensive, concise, and convenient for reference. It should have a v«iy extensive sale."- Hon. 
E. S. Laceij. Member of Congre.^s Jrom Michigan. In a subsequent letter ordering a number of ■Dja 
grams." Mr. Lacey says "They are highly prized by members of Congress who have them." 

GOSPEL, IN CREATION, THE. By E. J Waggoner A nicely illustrated work setting forth clearly 
and simply the relation between God's work in creation and redemption. 160 pages. Board covers*. 
25 cents, cloth. 40cts. 

By this study, it is seen that the faith of the Christian does not rest upon the soundness of any 
theory which the advance of science may render obsolete but is established upon indisputable tacts 
which are known to all men Further the signs of power and greatness that mark the handiwork of 
God in the visible universe are shown to be but indications of the unfailing strength with which he 
works in the lives of those who submit to his will. The confirmation of the truths o( the gospel 
drawn from the study of the creation, will make this book a valuable one to all who are watching 
with Interest the attacks *hat are now made on the authority of the Bible. 

SUNSHINE AT HOME, in English. German. Danish, and Swedish. 124 large pages dOx 13k.). 190 en 
gravings. Cloth, red edges $1.00 gilt edges. $1.25. 

A family portfolio of Natural History. Biography, and Bible Scenes. Beautifully bound in red 
and green cloth, embossed in jet and gold. Great care has been taken to exclude everything oJ a 
trashy character, thereby making the book a great favorite with all classes of society Sold by sub 
scriptlon. Agents wanted in every town and county in the United States 

DANIEL. AND THE REVELATION. — The Response of History to the Von e of Proi'hecy a 
verseby veise study of these important books of tiie Bible. By L'riah Smith. Revised edition (18y7 1. 
In five languages. 130th thousand. Many have considered these portions of Nciipluie hard to un- 
deistand but here a key is put into the reader's hand, which has made plain to thousands what was 
before dark and obscure. This key is the simple but correct rule of interpretation, which has ;iuideJ 
from darkness to light every refoinier in the past. The field of history is carefully scanned, and the 
emphatic response it gives in thrilling confirmation ot the voice of prophecy j-"shown to be clear 
and beyond dispute. A propliecy fulfilled (and there are many such in these booUs) is a most power 
ful antidote against skepticism. Prophecy is still fulfilling. Scenes of the most startling nature are 
just before us, which all should understand. " Daniel and the Revelation " contains 7.'>7 octavo pages, 
exclusive of bf> full-page illustrations. Beautifully bound in the following styles, post-paid — 



Cloth, marbled 

Cloth, gilt edges 8.75 

Library, marbled edges 3 00 

Full morocco, gilt edges .. 4.50 

"I have never before seen so readable a book as 'Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation.'" 
Rev. R. S. Belleville, Pastor of Presbu(eria)i Church. Prnicevillc, HI. 

" 1 very cordially recommend it to all persons disposed to the consideration of ancient history, 
especially in its connection with the Sacred Writings."- B. F. IVright, Probalt Judge, Flumlreau. Dak. 

"The subjects considered by him are discussed in a dignified and masterly manner. 1 am sure 
the book will be of value to«,ll Bible students."— P/'o/". H. R. Gass, Stipt. Pub. In.striictiniK Lansmn 
Mich. 

" Unquestionably a valuable book. I do not hesitate to commend it."— Rev. E. K. Young. D. D.. 
Pastor Fust M. E. Church. Des Monies, loiva. 

"An interesting, instructive, and profitable work on the most important of all themes."— Jamrs 
Summerbell, Pastor S. D. liaptist Church, Richburg. N. Y. 

'• ' Thoughts on Daniel.' by Dr. Smith, is a pood popular commentary" -i/osfpft D. Wilson. Rector 
of the Reformed Episcopal Church. 37th .St.. Chicago, HI. 

'The more I read, the more 1 am interested and delighted."- Prof. C. O \epper. Heidelberg Col- 
lege, Tijjlii. Ohio. 

" I think, take It all in all. it is the best commentary on the projihecies I ever read."- D Webster 
Coxe. D. D. Rector of St. Paul Church. Fremont. Ohio. 

•To the students of profane history, chapter eleven, of the first book (on the Eastern Vuestlon] 
Is alone worth the price,— //. R. Hancock. At1orni*y at Law, West i'mon, Iowa. 



^00\^ UO^\CLS. 



THE COMING KING. By Jame? EdsoD White. Takes up the connection of our Saviour with tlie 
earth froui creation to its final restoration, and the redemption of man. It represents Christ as the 
Creator, the Leader of Israel, the Man of Sorrows, the 1-^edeemer of His People, and the King of the 
Earth Made New. Especial attention is given to the subject of the Second Coining of Our Lord, and 
the signs on earth which were to show the approach of this great event, as foretold by our Saviour 
in Matthew XXIV. The marked fulfilment of these signs to be seen in our own day is considered, as 
shown in the Warlike Attitude of the Nations, the Difficulties Attending the .Money Question, the 
Labor Troubles, the Growth of Imperialism. Trusts, and the Coming Conflict Between Capital and 
Labor. These subjects form the live issues of the present day, and will immediately claim the atten- 
tion of every thinking man and woman. 

'•The Coming King" contains 290 octavo pages, and the text is illustrated with over 150 en 
gravings. many of them full page halftones all designed and engraved expressly for this book. 
Printed on an extra fine quality of tinted, sized and supercalendered paper. The engravings are 
printed in a fine bronze brown ink, and the text in black, thus giving a beautiful contrast, and ad 
ding wonderfully to the attractiveness of the book. 

Fine silk cloth, paneled sides, with raised designs and title in ink. price $1 00 

Presentation edition, two colors of cloth, embossed in gold and colored ink, gilt top . 1 50 

Also issued in the German language, at same price. 

THE ATONEMENT. By J. H. Waggoner. Third edition, revised and enlarged. 368 pages, cloth. $L00 

An examination of the remedial system in the light of nature and revelation. This work is a 

critical and exhaustive treatise on the plan of salvation as revealed in the Scriptures, showing its 

harmony with the principles of justice and mercy, its consistency with reason, and its final results 

as affecting the destiny of the human race. 

LOOKING UNTO JESUS, or Christ in Type and Antitype, by Uriah Smith, explains fully the Sanc- 
tuary and 2300 days of Dan. 8 14 and shows very clearly the relation of the two dispensations, the 
Mosaic and Christian. This book will assist the reader to look unto Jesus from every Scriptural 
point of view.— '-as the One sent forth l-y the Father, to be. in his own person, his representative 
among men , as our Teacher and Guide as our Examiile. 'the author and finisher of our faith,' and 
above all. as our Saviour and Redeemer, the hope and source of everlasting life." 

A beautiful book throughout, containing over 300 pages, illustrated, and frontispiece in three 
colors, showing the -Interior of the Sanctuary." Bound in buckram, cover design in four colors, 
plain edges, $1 00. Back and cover design stam'ped in gilt, beveled boards, full gilt edges. 81 ."iO. 

THE GBEAT CONTROVERSY between Christ and Satan during the Christian Dispensation By 
Mrs. E. G. White, author of "The Life of Christ," "Sketches from the Life of Paul." "Bible Sancti 
ticatioD." and other excellent works Sixteenth edition, revised, and enlarged to over 700 octavo 
pages, handsomely bound with 26 full page illustrations 

Cloth ,. .. 82 00 

Gilt edges 2 50 

Library 2 75 

Half morocco 3 25 

Full morocco 4 25 

This volume presents the most wonderful and intensely interesting history that has ever been 
written of the great conflict between Christianity and the powers of darkness, as illustrated in the 
lives of Christian martyrs and reformers on the one hand, "^nd wicked men and persecuting powers 
on the other. Beginning with our Lord's great prophecy given while viewing Jerusalem from the 
Mount of Olives this book outlines the history of the whole dispensation down to the time when 
"sin and sinners are no more, God's entire universe is clean, and the great controversy is forever 
ended." Sold by subscription. Agents wanted everywhere. Issued also in the Swedish, German, 
Danish, French, and Dutch languages. 

EISTOBY OF THE SABBATH and the First Day of the Week. By John Kevins Andrews, late 
missionary at Basel, Switzerland, editor of Les Signes des Temps, and author of numerous theological 
books and tracts. Revised and enlarged, cont ining 548 pages, with steel portrait and other illustra- 
tions. 

Cloth $1.50 

Half morocco 3. 25 

The same in three pamphlets . .75 

This great and exhaustive work is the result of ten years' hard labor and historical research. It 
is a mine of useful information on the Sabbath question, and treats the subject from a Biblical and 
historical standpoint. Every passage of Scripture which has any connection with the Sabbath, in 
the Old Testament or in the New. is examined at length. The vaiious steps by which the change 
from the seventh day to the first day was made, and the final exaltation of the Sabbath, are referred 
to in detail. The complete testimony of the Fathers, immediately succeeding the time of the 
apostles, in regard to the seventh and the first day, Is presented, and the comparative merits of the 
two days are clearly shown. A copious index enables the reader to find any passage of Scripture, or 
the statement of any historian. From the pulpit and the press, in social circles and in legislative 
halls, the great demand of the hour is, that the national rest-day be more strictly observed. To as- 
sist the InteiUgent-minded of our land to have correct views of this important question, this book is 
issued. Less comprehensive works on this subject may also be obtained, ranging in price from 1 
cent to 25 cents. This volume can also be had in the German language, at $1.50. 

HERE AND HEREAFTER, OR Man in Life and Death; The Reward of the Righteous and the Des 
tiny of the Wicked. By U. Smith. A thorough canvass of the great question of a future existence, 
and the nature of man. Every text in the Bible which has any bearing upon these points, is taken 
up and carefully explained, thus giving the most comprehensive view of the subject that has yet 
been presented. The work contains 357 pages, bound in cloth, revised edition. 81.00. 

HEIiPS TO BIBLiE STUDY. (Revised.) A series of Bible readings, simple and easy, designed as an 
aid to the personal study of the Scriptures, and adapted to the use of Individuals or families, also a 
valuable assistant for Bible workers. The book contains about forty readings, prepared by practical 
Bible workers apd teachers, and covering the most important subjects that pertain to the spiritual 
welfare of man"fcind at the present time. 125 pages, cloth. ."iO cents. 



^00\^ HOl^C^S 



PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS; ou the (iKEAT Conkmct between (iooi> a.\i> Kvil as Ilh strated 
IN THE Lives ok Holy Men or Old. Hy Mrs, E. G. White, author of "(;ieat Controversy," -Life of 
Christ," and iiuirierons other worlds on religious subjects. The book contains over 'fio octavo pairt-t". 
It is printed from tirst-class electrotypes, on a line quality of tinted paper. Its paires are adorned 
with more than .'iO engravings, over 30 of which are full-page, and many were designed and engraved 
especially for this book and at groat expen.se, by an artist in Paris, France. The subscriber can 
choose from the following substantial and attractive bindings: — 

Urab English Cloth (2.00 

Light green Kngilsh cloth, gold edges 2.50 

Library style, marbled edges 2.75 

Full Turkey morocco, gold edges, extra tlnish 4.25 

Plain edition, lighter paper, plain binding, plaiti side stamp, only 13 illustrations, 
white edges l.T.l 

Also issued in Danish, Swedish, German, Spanish, and Dutch at same prices. 

This book treats upon the great themes of Bible history,— themes not in themselves new. I^ut so 
presented here as to give them a new significance. Beginning with the rebellion in heaven, the au- 
thor shows why sin was permitted, why Satan was not destroyed, and why man was tested; gives a 
thrilling description of man's temptation and fall; and rehear.ses the plan of redemption devi.«ed for 
his .salvation. The subjects treated in this volume vdll stir the soul to its depths and awaken the 
liveliest emotions of the mind. 

BIBLfE READINGS FOR THE HOME CIRCIjE. Contributed by numerous Bible students. COO 
pages, profusely illustrated with full-page engravings, diagrams, colored plates, and ornamental 
hpadings, many of which were engraved especially for this work. It also embraces the pictorial al- 
legory, " The Game of Life." 

Olive cloth, marbled edges tl.75 

Blue cloth, silk finish, gilt edges and side stamp 2 25 

Library, marbled edges 2.75 

Half morocco, extra marbled edges 3.25 

Full morocco, gilt edges, and superior finish 4.00 

This work contains 162 readings on a great variety of subjects, adapted to all classes of society, 
and de.«igned for either public or privaie use. embracing readings on conversion. ot)edience. prayer, 
sanctiflcation, temperance, social purity, nature of man, immortality, the angels, the law ot God, 
the Sabbath, the judgment, second coming of Christ, millennium. NewJerusalem. destruction of the 
wicked, new earth, reward of the righteous, and numerous readings on the prophecies of both the 
Old and New Testaments. Sold l)y subsciiption. Over 500.000 already sold. Furnished also in Dan- 
ish, Swedish, Dutch, French, and German at same prices. 

The same readings, in English only, solid type, on thin paper, without illustrations, bound in 
brown cloth, plain edges, $1.00. 

STEPS TO CHRIST. This little work by Mrs. E. G. White presents in a simple and attractive manner 
the steps by which the sinner may be made complete in Ohiist. While the book is an excellent guide 
for inquirers and young converts, it also contains a wealth of counsel and encouragement for those 
who are laboring with the difficulties that beset a growing experience Thi^ excellent treatise is 
wholly undenominational and Is equally esteemed by all. A Presbyterian pastor in a distant State 
ordered 500 copies to distribute In his church. l.')7 pages, in neat cloth binding, 75 cents. 

FACTS FOR THE TIMES. Containing historical extracts, candid admissions from authors, ancient 
and modern, on the live questions of the present hour, political and religious. A book for the times. 
Revised to 18!t3. A compilation of facts that are astounding, by students of Biblical and historical 
research. 340 pages. Wine-colored cloth binding. Price, post-paid, "!:> cents. 

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION. By Mrs. E. G. White. The most complete and comprehensive work on 
the subject of Christian education that has ever been published. Many of the pn'blems that perplex 
parents are cleared up in this book, and every one who has to deal with children should procure and 
study it. 256 pages, nicely bound in cloth, r)0 cents. 



SACRED CHRONOIiOQY. A new and revised edition of a little work published by S. Bliss about 

)ostle John. Also "The 
Genesis." By Alonzo 



forty years ago, giving the chronology from creation till the death of the apostle John. .\l30 "The 
:,iNG OF THE Earth: or, Historical Notes on the Te.ntii CiLvrTKR of Ge " "" "' 



T. Jones. A valuable reference book. 298 pages, cloth, dl.OO. 

VIEWS OF NATIONAL REFORM 13 tracts, 112 pages in all, 10 cents. Single tracts, 1 cent fcr 
every 8 pages. 

These tracts treat upon the various phases of the National Reform movement, under the follow- 
ing titles: Evils of Religious Legislation, 4 pages; Religious Liberty. 8 pages; National Reform and 
the Rights of Conscience, 8 pages; The .Vmerican Papacy. 8 pages; Hold and Base .\vowal. 8 pages; 
National Hoform in Church and ^tatc. S ))a.rcs; Purity of National Kcligion, 4 pages; The Salem 
Witchcraft. 8 pages; What Think Yc of Cluisi ? 4 pau'cs; National Ueformed (^institution and the 
American llienircliy, 16 pages; Tlic Hcpuhlic ,<( Israel. 4 pages; National Ueformed Presbyterianism, 
24 pages, The National Reform Movement an .Mtsurdity. 8 pages. 

THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLiE, or Civil Government and RELif;ioN. Hy Alonzo T. Jones. This 
work shows clearly the relation that should exist between the church and the state at the present 
time, as proved by Holy Writ and the historical evidence of twenty-five centuries. It shows 
how Christianity advanced in the Roman Empire, not only without the aid of the state, but in the 
face of the bitterest opposition from the state; it discusses what flic Christian should render to Hod, 
and what to the state, and how the powers that he are ordained of (lod. The book then takes up 
the history and princii)les of the niovenient so active now in tlie i;cpiil>li<' ti> accomplish the national 
establishment of religion, in contrast willi the lii.storv and principles of the government of the 
United States as originally established. .No matter what your views upon this question, you can not 
alford to miss reading this book; you can not atford to be without the documents and other material 
in it. Indispensable to every lover of civil and religious liberty. Scriptural, logical, plain, and 
forcible. 378 pages. Cloth, $1.00; paper covers, 40 cents. 



^00\<. H01\GLS. 



THE NATIONAL SUNDAY liAW. This work contains the argument of Alonzo T. Jones before the 
Senate Committee on Education and Labor, Dee. 13, 1888, in behalf of the rights of American citizens, 
and in opposition to the Blair Sunday bill. The argument is enlarged to what it would have been 
without Senator Blair's inteiTupiions, objections, and counter-arguments, and is accompanied with 
answei-s to ali of his objections aiid counter-arguments. 

As the Sunday question is now a living issue, this treatise will be interesting to all classes, espe- 
cially legislators, lawyers, judges, and other public men. Dr. Crafts pronounced the original report 
"mighty interesting reading.'' The comments of Mr. Jones make it more so. The argument is based 
on Scripture and history, constitution and law, showing the limits of the civil power, the unconsti- 
tutionality of the Sunday bill, an analysis of the Sunday laws and other religious legislation of the 
different States, the Sunday-law movement of the fourth century, the Sunday-law movement of the 
nineteenth century, the methods used in securing indorsements to the petitions for the Blair bill, 
and the workings of such Sunday laws as are proposed for the United States. 192 pages. Price, 25 
cents, in paper covers; in cloth, 50 cents. 

CHTTRCB: and state. By James T. Ringgold of the Maryland Bar, author of works treating in- 
directly on the above subject, such as '-Law of Sunday." This masterly argument, in pamphlet 
form, endeavors to show that there is a tendency, in this our land of the free, to this union. He lays 
bare before his readers the roots which will surely spring to life unless extirpated. A review for 
thinkers to read and ponder.— No. 3, December. 1892, of the Religious Liberty Library. 64 pp. 
Price, 10 cents. 

THE T'WO REPTJBIilCS. By Alonzo T. Jones. This book is of great importance to every liberty- 
loving American citizen. A comparative history of the two greatest Republics, Rome and the United 
States of America. The study of years and elaboration of many volumes, are presented in a concise 
and pleasing manner. In reviewing the history of the Roman Republic, the rocks upon which she 
stranded are clearly pointed out. It contrasts the principles underlying enforced religious observ- 
ances, with the true principles of religious freedom for every man, as guaranteed by the Constitu- 
tion of the United States. The -'Two Republics" comprises 890 octavo pages, and is printed from 
first-class electrotypes, on fine, tinted paper, beautifully and substantially bound, and illustrated 
with 67 full page engravings. The work is furnished to subscribers in the foUowli^g elegant styles of 
binding: — 

Pamphlet edition, i parts $1.00 

Thin-paper edition, cloth bound, plain edges 1.85 

Cloth, marbled edges 2.50 

Cloth, gilt edges 3.00 

Library, marbled edges 3.50 

Half morocco, marbled edges 4.00 

Full morocco, gilt edges 4.75 

Also issued in German at $1.85, $2..50, $3.00. and $4.50. 

"If I had ten thousand dollars to donate to the cause of popular intelligence and sound, whole- 
some reading, I would freely give it in aid of the circulation of this masterly work."— ffon. Wm. T. 
Tolley, ex-Senator of Tennessee. 

"It seems to us as though it has left nothing unsaid which needed to be said upon this subject." 
— New York Sun. 

"In 'The Two Republics; or Rome and the United States of America,' Mr. Alonzo T. Jones gives 
evidence of patient research and sound thinking. It is published in an attractive form, with numer- 
ous illustrations."— P/n7ade/j3/iia Daily Press. 

"The author . . . argues manfully in his book, pleading the separation of Church and State in 
the American Constitution,— the reservation of conscience from the subject on which it is lawful 
here for Congress or legislatures to legislate."— -Veif York Independent. 

"'The Two Republics.' This work is an argument against all phases of union between Church 
and State. The array of facts which he presents bearing upon the question can not fail to interest 
thoughtful readers. ... He treats the problem of Sunday legislation with marked ability. The 
work is profusely illustrated. His discussion of the main question is vigorous, clear, and con- 
clusive."— Pifbh'c Opinion, Washington, D. C. 

DUE PBOCESS OF LA-W AND THE DIVINE BIGHT OF DISSENT. By Alonzo T. Jones. A 
pamphlet reviewing the decision of Judge Hammond in the case of R. M. King, of Tennessee , also 
discussing the idea of Christianity as a part of the common law. Judge Hammond's decision is 
given in full in an appendix, and also a decision of the Supreme Court of California in a case similar 
to that of King. A very valuable work for this time. 120 pp. Price, 15 cents. 

THE DESIRE OF AGES. By Mrs. E. G. White. This latest book from the pen of this well-known 
author is an intensely interesting and beautifully illustrated volume, the key-note of which is the 
great truth that in Christ the love of the Father is revealed — that "God was in Christ reconciling 
the world unto himself." It has been the work of Satan to misrepresent the character of God, and to 
deny the authority of his law; but Christ, who was "God manifest in the flesh," by his death re- 
deems the transgressor, and maintains the immutabiCity of that law. Thus God's love and justice are 
alike vindicated. This book treats of the development of this purpose as wrought out in the life of 
Christ. " The Desire of Ages " will interest all classes, for they were all represented in the various 
individuals that received help and encouragement from the Great Consoler while he was here upon 
earth. It is dedicated to the great family for whom our Elder Brother lived and died. The volume 
is divided into the following sections: 1. An Outlook; 2. Early Years; 3. The Anointed One; 4. The 
Days of Promise; 6. Falling Shadows; 6. The Rejected One; 7. Nearing the End; 8. The Crucified; 
9. To the Father's Throne. 

The illustrations have been prepared by eminent New York artists and are first class in every 
particular. They consist of 38 full-page engravings, 87 illuminated chapter headings, and nearly 300 
smaller illustrations. Its 87 chapters and index form a volume of nearly 900 large octavo pages. 
Size of book, 8 x 10 inches. It is printed on enamel-finish, supercalendered book-paper, and is bound 
as follows : — 

Cloth, marbled edges 83.50 

Cloth, gilt edges 4.25 

Library, marbled edges 5.00 

Full Morocco, gilt edges 7.00 

A copy of any of the foregoing works will be sent on receipt of price. Address, Eeview 
and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich.; Chicago, 111.; Toronto, Ont. ; or Atlanta, Ga. 
Catalogue of publications in English, German, Danish, Swedish, French, and 
Dutch, sent free on application. 



PERIODICHLS. 



"AMERICAN SENTINEL," 

A SIXTEEN-PAGE weekly journal, devoted to the preservation of the United 
[States Constitution as it is, so far as regards religion or religious tests, and the 
maintenance of both civil and religious rights. This is the only journal of the 
kind published. It is full of new and important matter each week lelative to the 
progress of the National Reform party, ably discussing both sides of the proposed 
National Sunday law and religious "Amendment to the Constitution." Per year, 
$1.00 Address, American Sentinel, 39 Bond St., New York City. 

'*THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES/' 

THIS is a sixteen-page weekly journal, full of bright, interesting matter that 
can not fail to make it attractive to readers of all classes. 
Among the special departments in which its contents are arranged are the 
following: The Outlook, which deals with developments in religious lines of vital 
interest at the present day. The department of Home and Health has articles 
adapted to all ages, including much practical instruction in the principles of 
healthful living. Mission Fields always contains a rare fund of information in re- 
gard to the work of the gospel in different parts of the world. The Question Corner 
contains replies to questions as to the meaning of different Bible texts difficult to 
understand. The International Sabbath -school lessons are presented in a lu(;id and 
practical manner, calculated to be of invaluable service to all students. The aim 
of the editors is to bring out the real pith of the Scripture teachings. 

These are only a few of the many things of interest and value that the paper 
brings its readers week by week. For subscriptions or sample copies, address, 
Signs of the Times. Oakland, Cal. Single copy, one year (50 numbers). $1.00. To for- 
eign countries in postal union ($1.50), 6s. 

** THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR/' 

AN EIGHT-PAGE illustrated weekly magazine for youth and children, devoted 
to moral and mental culture, and especially designed as a companion to Bible 
study. It is the best paper in the world for children and youth, being free 
from modern fables and sentimentalism. 

I Per year $ .75 

Single copy -^ Six months 40 

< Three months 20 

Five to nine copies to one addre.ss, each 55 

One copy to foreign countries, one year 1.25 

Address, Y<mth's Instructor. Battle Creek, Mich. 

''OUR LITTLE FRIEND/' 



A 



N EIGHT-PAGE illustrated weekly paper, devoted to the best moral literature 
for children. Single copies, per year, 50 cents; 5 to 10 copies to one address, 
each, 45 cents; 10 or more, each. 40 cents. 

Address, Our Little Friend, Oakland, Cal. 



^ 



= f Tt-IE BEREAN5 WERE MORE NOBLE IN THAT THEY RECEIVED THE WORD, 
I I AND SEARCHED THE 5CRIPTURE5 DAILY, WHETHEf? TH05E THIFIGS WERE 50 



,<v.cxs ir : 1 1 . a 




/^^\ SEP 88 m»-^ •«*»,^^^ 

(g)jeAxxi/ru 



[Im^a^ 




No. 2 



THOUGHTS ON DANIE>I> 



25cts 



Battle Creek. Mich. 
Chicago - Atlanta - Toronto. 



BEREflN LIBRARY 



Quarterly, 75 cents per year. 

Ociober. l«y'J. 
Entered at Battle Creek P. 



r. / 

„[No.2=25(ts. 



A quarterly octavo publication devoted to the best religious litera- 
ture, presenting true Christianity in its leading practical and theoretical 
phases, special attentionbeinggiven to the fulfilment of divine prophecy 
as proved by careful comparison with authentic historical records of the 
past and undisputed events of the present. 



No. I. 



" A good book to put into the hands of an un- 
converted friend as well as into the hands of a 
doubting church-member. God's Love tor Man; 
The Sinner's Need of Christ; Repentance; Con- 
II p, - , fession; Consecration; Faith and Acceptance; 

JTcuS to TheTestofDiscipleship;UrowingUpintoChrist; 

. The Work and the Life; A Knowledge of God; 

CnPlSt ^^^ Privilegeof Prayer; WhatTodo with Doubt; 

V 111 1^1. Rejoicing in the Lord. These are the topics, and 

they are well treated."— T/ie Western Recorder. 
In cloth. 50 cts. One Hundred Thousand Sold. 
Published in eighteen languages. 
20 cents* In Danish. Swedish, German. Holland. Spanish, 

and Portuguese languages at tiO cents per copy, 
cloth, post-paid. 

In French, Bohemian, Polish, Italian, Welsh, 
and Hungarian at 75 cents per copy post-paid. 



No. 2. 



•• Thoughts 
I on 
Daniel." 

300 pages. 
25 cents. 



October, 1899. 

A verse-by-verse study of the prophecies of 
Daniel, by Uriah Smith, author of *" Thoughts on 
Daniel and the Revelation," " Here and Here- 
after," "The Marvel of Nations," "Looking 
unto Jesus." etc. 

History's wonderful response to the voice of 
Prophecy is accurately recorded here and in its 
companion volume. No. 3 of Berean Library. 

As the remarkable prophecies in Daniel and 
the Revelation become more largely fulfilled, 
it is a matter of more interest and importance 
year by year that they be studied ana under- 
stood; and this work is designed to bring out tlie 
stirring, practical, and prophetic truths which 
they contain. 



No. 3. 



"Thoughts 
on the 
Revelation." 



January, 1000. 

A verse-by-verse study of the prophecies of 
.Jiihn in tlit^ Book of Revelation, by the author of 
" Thoughts on Daniel." 

Many have considered tlie prophecies hard to 
understand; but here a key is put into the read- 
er's hand which has made plain to thousands 
what was before dark and obscure. 

The bonk is adapted to all classes of readers, 
and has received many strong testiniouials from 
the best scholars and most devoted Christians in 
the land. 



400 pages 
25 cents. 

Over 80,000 copies of "Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation." com- 
bined, and bound in substantial covers ($2.-'5. cloth; $2.75. gilt edge; 
$3.00. library; ^.50, morocco), are now in the hands of BihU> students of 
all denominations; and in order that all classes may be reached, this 
greatest of all books on the prophecies is now issued in two parts, at 2."> 
cents each; and the two combined in plain cloth case, $t. p<ist-pald. 




300 papres with illu>,trati<)iis and 3-coloi' 
1- rontit.piece, biiekram cloth, :i-color de 
sijrn. plain edees, $1.00. 

(rold, blue, brown, and cream, edges bev- 
eled and gilt, post-paid, $1.50. 



LOOKING INTO JESIS, 

OR 

CHRIST IN TYPE 
AND ANTiTYPE. 



By URIAH SMITH, 

Author of " Thoughts on Daniel and the 
Revelation." 



Looking at the world is unrest ; 
Looking at self is discouraging ; 
Looking at others is misleading; 
Looking at Jesus is to become like 
Him in thought, word, and deed. 



•' A well-written book."— i?am'.s Horn. 
Chicago. 



"Can not but thrill the heart of the 
reader."— C7ir(.stia>i Work, New York. 




HERE and HEREAFTER, 



MAN IN LIFE 
AND DEATH. 



By URIAH SMITH, 

Author of " Thoughts on Daniel and the Reve- 
lation." "Looking Unto Jesus," etc. 



3.')T pages, cloth, aluminum and brown 
titles, plain edges. $1.00, post-paid. 



the Reward of the KighfcoMs 
and the Destiny of the lUicKed^ 

The correct answers to the following 
questions : — 
Is the sinner immortal? 
Is the Christian immortal? 
What becomes of each at death ? 
"Where is their ** forever?*^ 



jnODERN SPiiiilUHLlSin 

In the Light of Prophecy and History. 
Pamphlet, no 



t> pages, cloth, .')0 cents, 
illustrations, y.') cents. 



Is Spiritualism the poAver of God ? or 
the pOAver of Satan ? An important question 
in these days of signs and wonders. 

Do our departed friends return to us ? 
or are they n)erely personified throufih the 
hypnotic power of spiritual beings? Who are 
these? Whence come they? "To the law and 
to tlie testimony." 



REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING CO., Battle Creek, Mich. 



IMo. -^ of BEREArVI LIBRARV. 
. . . THE . . . 

Peril of the I^epub/ic 

As revealed by the Search-li^'^ht of History 
illuminatinji Current Events in the I'nited 
States Government 



By PROF. PERCY T. J^AGAN. 



PRINCIPLE AND POLICY 

Accurately Defined and Lucidly Compared by the Greatest Thinkers 
among the World's Famous Statesmen and Historians, Soldiers and 
Civilians, presenting . , . , 

The Romish European Theory 

of the unlimited power of rulers, in contrast with 

The Protestant American Theory 

of the supreme rijrht of the individual. 



CONSENT AND DISSENT 

Of the Governed y 

FROM TO 

ENFORCED RELIGION in RELIGION ENFORCED under 

The Spanish Inquisition of Yesterday The U. S. Constitution of To-morrow. 

^ An Old World Army Driven Out. 
• An Old World Idea Driven In. 

p Spanish Might Did Not Make Right. 
• American Alight Does Make Right 
^ European Imperialism Hateful. 
• American Imperialism Lovable. 

^ Roman Expansion and Ruin. 
• American Expansion and Prosperity. 
^ Purity, Peace, and Preservation. 
• Corruption, War, and Dissolution. 

Concliidin.i: with a prospective sketch of the " Y«.)unis' Imperialist " in the Orient, 
and our relation to Amity or Arma.ireddon. 

200 pajres. Pricc,'25 cents, paper covers: ?0 cents, cloth. 
Address REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING CO., Battle Creek, Mich. 



OCT "0 m\ 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: June 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drivi 
Cranberry Township PA i60tif 
(724)779-2111 



